


Converging Worlds

by CeliaMoonbeam



Series: Throne of Glass - Prythian [3]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass - Fandom
Genre: Fluff and Smut, I can't type all those ppl again, Mates, Might not be contiued, Multi, On Hiatus, probably won't be continued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:35:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27411280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeliaMoonbeam/pseuds/CeliaMoonbeam
Summary: It has been over two decades since the war against Erawen, and magic in Erilea is gone. The next generation has come together for the holiday of Samhuinn, all together under one roof. Sometimes parties can get out of control, and when four of them are taken through a portal to Prythian, everythings becomes more complicated. The children of Prythian and Erilea will come together, but now they must convince their parents to unite with them, or risk war.Love will bloom in the least expected way and wounds will finally start to heal. They are the most powerful fae of their world, and they’ll need to work together to get magic back. Don’t need to read other stories to understand the plot.
Series: Throne of Glass - Prythian [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925599
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, hi. So, I've had trouble when reading next gen fics, it's hard at the beginning to understand who's who. Hopefully with the names I've chosen for them, it'll be easier.  
> But here is the list just in case:  
> (I added names. The & means they're twins.)  
> Aelin + Rowan = (23)Mari, (21)Rhoe, (19)Elena & Gavin  
> Aedion + Lys = (23)Gav, (20)Carmen  
> Vera + Fenrys = (23)Gwen & Connie  
> Lorcan + Elide = (24)Ava, (19)Elliot  
> Dorian + Manon = (23)Asterin, (19)Rhia(ree-uh)  
> Chaol + Yrene = (24)Jo  
> Rhys + Feyre = (25)Nikolas, (20)Rhea(Ray-uh)  
> Azriel + Elain = (20)Rose  
> Nesta + Cassian = (20)Nuala  
> Amren + Verian = (24)Asher & Ali  
> Tamlin + Emerie = (18)Andras  
> Lucien + Cressenda = (18)Amber

It was autumn in Velaris, the leaves were different hues of reds and oranges, and the animals were almost ready to take a long slumber though winter and wake up to spring. Amber Vanserra loved autumn, of course, she loved winter the most, considering it was the only season she didn’t live in for long periods of time. 

Her father Lucien, lived in the spring court as an emissary to the high lord, Tamlin. Her mother Cressenda, was the princess of Adriata, and presided in the summer court. Though her father’s mother was from autumn, his father was the high lord of Day Court. This gave Amber the unique experience of traveling between four different courts, three of which being seasonal. 

Amber loved Velaris, it was beautiful, and it wasn’t set in one season. Her aunt Elain lived here, she was her father’s mate, which made for a sometimes awkward family gathering. She was the youngest of her friends and family, being only eighteen, but she liked it that way. Since she’d always been too young to play with anyone else, she observed. She liked to watch them, and almost always found herself giving advice to them. 

For instance, tonight it was very windy and rainy, which was the perfect conditions for flying. Amber found her cousin Asher in a cave that lay in the great mountain where the house of wind was situated. It was under a lake, but if one had the ability to manipulate water, they could easily make a path without getting soaked. 

He was sitting on a rock in front of a fire, his back facing her, but he knew she was there. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Elain and your mother, you know they’ll get worried.”

She pursed her lips, “You’re supposed to be there too. You’ve been missing things lately.”

He turned his head to look at her, his moon white hair shimmering on the reflection of the water, “Just because I miss events doesn’t mean they miss me.”

“I miss you.” Amber sat next to him, “I know something’s bothering you, Ash.” He gave her a questioning look, she smiled, “This is your thinking cave.”

He chuckled, “And only you know it exists.” she gave him a look and he sighed, “I’ve just been… I’ve been nowhere lately. I have no idea what’s going on, every time I see our parents together I feel this ache in my chest. It’s like a knot tied around my heart, and it’s slipping away… and I don’t know if I want it to or not. Does that sound stupid?”

She thought for a moment, “No, no it doesn’t. I think it just means that you’ve grown up. I think…” she said carefully, “You might be feeling that absence because of a mate.”

He frowned at her in confusion, “But I don’t have a mate.”

She sighed internally, trying to keep her expression blank. “I mean because you don’t have a mate. You need a mate, or a partner, or something.” she threw her hands up in annoyance. 

He held up his hands in surrender, smiling, “Ok, ok, don’t go crazy on me, i’m well aware your abilities would far overpower mine.”

She punched him playfully, “You and your parents have to go to some celebration in Adriata right?”

He raised a brow, “No, we have to go to a celebration in Adriata.”

She grinned at him, “No, you have to go. I’m going to day court to see my grandfather, then autumn to see grandma.”

He grumbled, “Damn, I wish I had the excuse to travel to any court but summer, I spend way too much damn time in summer.”

“Says the male currently in night court.” She yawned, “Well, I'm beat. Try not to spend the whole night here, Amren will kill you.” She parted the water, small clouds of steam coming off here whenever she touched the water. She disappeared out of his sight, the water closing back up to lap against the shore once more. 

He sighed, staring up at the ceiling of the cave, “What the hell am I looking for?” his voice echoed off the walls, but they sent him no answer. He got off the rock and parted the waters, walking back up the riverbank would have been hard, if there hadn’t been stone steps leading to and from the cave. When Asher had found it, he’d always assumed it was made for water benders, though he had wondered what it was doing in Night Court. 

When he finally made it back to his room in the house of wind, he was annoyed to find his twin, Ali, sitting on his bed. “Dear diary,” she said, looking into his journal, “I feel empty, I no longer belong in summer court, nor do I belong to the night. I must embrace my true self and fulfill my dream of running off to spring and becoming a flower. I will be a rose, swaying in the grasslands.”

Asher rolled his eyes, “Very funny Al, give it back.”

She pulled the book out of his reach, her blue and silver eyes bearing into him, “You missed dinner, mom keeps blaming me for your absences.” she rolled her eyes, “Like I’m supposed to know wherever you go.”

“Sorry for the inconvenience to you.” Asher said sarcastically, snatching back the book. 

She glared at him, “She was worried about you, and while I don’t particularly care, she does.”

“Careful, you’re sounding nice all of a sudden. It could ruin your reputation as the rotten apple.”

She rolled her eyes, “Asher, you’re an annoyance. An annoyance that writes his feelings in a journal, which by the way many of us read, to make sure you don’t try anything.”

He snorted, “If I wanted to kill myself, I’d do it, there are plenty of ways.”

She became very still, and he quickly said, “I was kidding, I’m kidding, I’m fine.”

Her shoulders dropped a little, “Just because I don’t care, doesn’t mean I don’t… care. You’re still my annoying twin brother.”

“And you love me?” he teased. 

She pushed him onto the bed, “And I’m leaving, go take up your absence with mom.” she left the room, closing the door with a righteous slam. He chuckled a little, laying back on his bed he fell asleep, seeing blurry images of a golden haired beauty, blue eyes with a core of gold staring back at him. 

- - - - -

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Elena Elentiya Evalin Whitethorn Ashryver Galathynius, you get back here right now!”

“Never!”

“That is my book!”

“Ahh, Gavin save me.”

“I swear to the gods Gavin, don’t you dare.”

Gavin Samuel Whitethorn Ashryver Galathynius turned his head, right as his twin sister Elena came barreling into him. “No, protect me Gavin.” His sister curled into his arms, still laughing. 

Connie Moonbeam came from behind a shelf, her face set in fury, her red hair seeming even more red than usual. “Give me back the damn book Galathynius.”

Elena stuck out her tongue, “Catch me Moonbeam.”

Gavin was not an idiot, though he was the younger twin and only nineteen, he was not an idiot. He knew that when it came to twins, the Moonbeam sisters rivaled all, even their own parents, who both had twin brothers. Elena, on the other hand, wasn’t as much an idiot, as she was daring. Always running into fire, like their mother. 

Elena straightened and held her ground, “No, I wanted to read it, and there are no copies of it in the library.”

“It’s a new release, you didn’t pay for early release, it’s your problem. Now give it.” she growled. 

“Lena, just give it to her.” Connie’s sister, Gwen, appeared behind them. Ava Lochan, her mate, stood next to her, a slight look of worry on her face. 

“C’mon, you know how much she loves her books, even we can’t touch them until she’s done.” said Ava, she was also Connie’s caranam, which made them an interesting trio. 

Elena huffed, “I’ve been waiting years for the series to be complete.”

“You’ve been waiting three months,  _ I _ have been waiting five years, so hand it over.” came Connie’s slightly gentler voice. 

Elena pursed her lips, then reluctantly handed it over. Gavin took his sister’s hand, “How about we go raid the kitchens, hmm. I hear they made jelly tarts.”

Elena perked up at the mention of sweets, needless to say, she got everything from her mother, everything but her silver hair and pine green eyes. She and her brother looked identical, while Connie and Gwen looked wholly different. Gwen had her father’s golden hair, while Connie had their mother’s rarely seen red, they both had deep green eyes and tanned skin, but that’s where the similarities ended. 

The twins went to the kitchen, where they were met with their other siblings, arguing. Rhoe Cal Whitethorn Ashryver Galathynius and Marion Nehemia Whitethorn Ashryver Galathynius, also known as Mari. Mari, the spitting image of their mother, was in a deep argument with Rhoe. 

Rhoe noticed them first, “Hey twins,” his Ashryver eyes giving them both a once over. 

Mari then turned to them, her own Ashryver eyes bearing into them, “What are you two doing here?”

“Lena took one of Connie’s new books and had to give it back. I just wanted sugar so we came to get some jelly tarts.” said Gavin, glancing in the direction of said tarts. 

Mari rolled her eyes, “Those tarts are for the party tonight, you can’t eat anything already prepared, if you want food, make some.” One of the first things Rowan had done for his children, was ensure they could properly cook and bake. Some thought it was so they’d be more independent, the real reason was that he didn’t want to have a repeat of the Aelin cake incident with them. 

Gavin looked into the storage room, “There’s no food in here.”

“Mhmm, that’s because all the food is going into tonight's festivities.” she said. 

“Who knew you needed so much food for Samhuinn.” Elena chimed, an apple appearing mysteriously in her hand. 

Rhoe looked at the clock on the wall, his golden hair shimmering in the light from the torches. “The party starts in two hours, Elena, go get the girls and get ready.” Elena raised a brow, but shrugged and left the kitchen. 

Gavin looked between his siblings, “So, what were you two arguing about?”

Rhoe glared at him, “Go.” Gavin held up his hands in surrender and went in search of his cousins. 

Elena found the twins and Ava in the library, Carmen Ashryver, Jo Westfall, and Asterin and Rhia Havillard Crochan next to them. “Rhoe and Mari got into a fight in the kitchen.” she stated casually, going to sit next to Rhia. 

“What about?” asked Carmen, her emerald eyes curious. 

Elena shrugged, “Most likely about the party. By the way, my brother insists we get ready now.”

“Yeah, because we’re the ones that take two hours to get dressed.” Ava said sarcastically. 

Elena shrugged, “I only have to put the dress on and do my makeup, I don’t see how that could take so long.” 

One and a half hours later… 

“Elena, how could you possibly spend an hour doing your hair.” Mari asked as they all made their way to the ballroom. 

“Some of the strands were too short for what I originally planned, and it wouldn’t look good down.” she said exasperatedly to her sister. 

“This is why I cut my hair.” said Gavin from his sister's side. 

“Oh hush you, you take just as long on your hair.” said Carmen. He grumbled at her words. 

Their arrival was announced in the ballroom before they entered, causing all heads to turn to them. They all wore masks, but it was still easy to pick them out of the crowd. Carmen’s brother Gav, came up to them, a smile playing on his lips, “You’re late.” he teased her. 

She harrumphed, “Elena took forever with her hair.”

“You kept redoing your makeup.” Elena fired back. 

Gav held up his hands, “All right, all right, I was kidding. You guys are just on time.” he chuckled. 

Gwen pulled Ava onto the dance floor, the twins breaking off to eat the food at the buffet table. Gav’s eyes momentarily stopped on Connie, “You look beautiful.” he said. He then turned to Mari, “My mother and Aelin would like to sing your praises.” she smiled at her cousin and crossed the room to where their parents were mingling. 

Rhoe, Elliot, Carmen, and Rhia went off to some corner or other, Asterin and Jo going to dance, leaving Connie alone. She didn’t mind being alone, she was used to it since Gwen often spent time with Ava, she just didn’t like the feeling of being totally ditched. 

“I don’t think you’ve been ditched, i think you’ve been given a great opportunity.” She turned around to find her mother’s twin, Carter and her father’s twin, Connall behind her. 

She held in her squeal as she pounced on them both, “Uncle Connall, uncle Carter. I thought you weren’t getting back until next week.” she exclaimed, while crushing them. 

Carter chuckled, “You didn’t think we’d miss our nieces’ birthday, did you?” She hugged him even tighter, “Ok cub, that’s a little tight.”

She let go of him, giving him an apologetic look. Connall glanced around the room, “Where’s Gwenny?”

“Dance floor with Ava.” she said, jerking her head in the direction of the couple. 

Connall chuckled, “That must have Lorcan and Fenrys thoroughly annoyed.”

“We should go make sure they aren’t fuming.” said Carter, feigning sincerity. 

Connall nodded his head in agreement, hooking an arm around his niece's shoulder, “Yes, and Connie should come in case the need arises to break up a fight.” he steered them toward where their parents were indeed fuming. 

Connie’s mother perked up when she spotted them, “Connall, Carter, you’re late, I expected you to be here an hour ago.”

Carter shrugged, “Maybe we were here, and you just couldn’t see us through the mountain of dresses in Aelin’s closet.”

Both females punched his shoulder, Vera taking her daughter from them, “I don’t want you being wrongly influenced by them.” she said to Connie. 

“Too late, she's ours.” said Connall. He turned to his brother grinning, “I noticed Gwen and Ava aren’t here.” 

Fenrys glared at him, “I liked you better when you sulked.”

“What are we talking about?” asked Gwen, suddenly beside her twin. 

Fenrys jumped slightly, “For hell's sake Gwen, you have to stop doing that.”

Connie looked behind her sister, “Where’s Ava?”

“Getting drinks,” came her sister’s nonchalant answer. 

Just then Ava came up behind them carrying a tray, “I thought I saw steam coming out of their ears.” she said, motioning towards their parents. She held out the tray for them, “Got everyone’s favorites.” 

Gwen and Connie both took the champagne given to them, drinking every last drop, then disappeared onto the ballroom floor. “I have a horrible feeling those two are going to do something incredibly stupid.” said Vera. She shrugged, then pulled her husband out onto the dance floor. 

Midnight…

“So why are we here again?” Asked Elena. The party had ended just before midnight, and the Moonbeam twins had dragged Gavin and Elena out of Orynth, Carmen had seen them leaving and elected to tag along. 

“We are here,” said Connie, “because we must continue our Samhuinn traditions.” When the twins were five, they had chosen two people from their family each year to tell horror stories to. They’d take them somewhere secluded - and most likely creepy - and tell them a story that had them shuddering in fear even now. 

Carmen started to subtly creep away, “Well, I’ll just be going then, it was rude of me to invite myself.” 

Gwen grabbed her arm, “Oh where do you think you’re going? We haven’t had you in five years.”

Carmen gulped, “You scared the hell out of me and I was fourteen, why’d you wait so long for them?”

Connie shrugged, “They’re twins, it’s no secret we’re partial towards them.” She took Carmen’s other arm and they started walking again. 

When they finally stopped, they had come to one of the mountains in the Staghorns. It was a large one, with no noticeable path. The path was small, just barely big enough for the demi fae children to take, it was carved into the side of the mountain. “Is this a stone staircase?” Carmen asked. 

“Yup.” said Gwen, “We discovered this a week ago, thought it’d be fun to tell a story around a fire up here.”

“Shouldn’t we stay closer to the castle, our parents won’t know where we are.” Said Gavin, worry laced in his tone. 

“We told Mari and Rhoe, once they notice Carmen’s gone they’ll assume she’s with us. Don’t worry, we’ve done this before.” said Gwen. 

They reached the summit of the mountain, the stairs making the climb a lot shorter. It was a flat top with a single stone on it, the stone was a black obelisk, with symbols carved into it that none of them could read and even with no magic, they could feel the power radiating from it. They sat around the fire that was already going, Carmen and her cousins more weary of the terror about to come. 

Connie and Gwen took their seat across the fire from them, wicked grins lighting up both their faces. “Once, on the night of Samhuinn…” started Gwen.

“There was a group of young royals…” continued Connie. 

“There were some princesses and a prince, and they sat around a fire at the top of a sacred mountain, telling spooky stories.”

“There was an ancient tale, one of monsters and an old world. Erilea used to be joined with another world, the name of which was lost to time. This world had broken off from ours, trailing to another dimension, one where the monsters destroyed all the living beings, making the world new. Beings from our world that existed thousands of years ago crossed over to that world, never to be seen here again. They thrived in their new world, but they always had a way back home if needed.”

Connie motioned to the obelisk, “This is an ancient Obelisk, it connects their world with ours, but they don’t know about it. It was lost in their history, and now, we are the only ones who know of it.”

Carmen sagged a little, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“Oh it’s about to get better.” said Gwen, “We heard, if you put blood on the carved symbols, you’ll open the portal to the other world.”

Connie nodded, grinning at them like a cheshire, “Who wants to try?”

Gavin was looking at the obelisk eagerly, “I’ll try it.” he said.

Elena looked at him surprised, “Gavin, you can’t just go spilling blood on a random stone, we don’t know where it’ll go.”

“It’ll go to the other world, weren’t you listening?” he said. 

She threw her hands in the air, “The other world with monsters and thriving ancient beasts. Weren’t  _ you _ listening?”

He ignored her, using his pocket knife to slice into his finger, he traced one of the symbols. “Nothing happened.” he said, slightly disappointed.

Connie came to inspect it, “Maybe it’s because magic is gone.” she said. She took the knife from him and smeared some of her blood on a symbol.

The symbol glowed blue, her blood spreading into the others, making the whole obelisk glow blue. Carmen and Gwen came for a closer look, but Elena was still hanging back. “Maybe we should go.” she said. 

“It’s fine, see?” said Carmen, she reached out a hand to touch the stone. 

As soon as she made contact, she disappeared in a flash of light. “Carmen!” Gavin lunged in after her, disappearing as well. The twins went in after them, as soon as they did, the glowing stopped, and Elena was stranded on the mountain. 


	2. Where are the kids?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter chapter, sry. Love the kudos, rly appreciate comments.

Rhea was annoyed, the last thing she wanted to be doing was babysitting Illiyrians and guarding a mountain that was barely ever used. Her brother had been conveniently busy, so she had to take his shift. She wouldn’t have been angry, if he had given her more than an hour's notice. Now she was in an Illyrian camp, freezing in the autumn cold, and not so happy that she wouldn’t be able to spend time with Rose when she came back. 

- - -

Rose was with her mother, Elain, visiting Lucien in the spring court. She was with Amber and Andras in the garden, helping them plant new flowers. “What about these.” Andras asked, showing her a small purple lilac. 

“They’re beautiful, make sure to tell the servants to not over water them.” she said. 

He nodded, Andras was surprisingly more gentle than both his parents. Still fierce and able to kick someone’s ass, but kind and caring. Rose stole a glance at Amber, who was secretly watching him. She had always thought they’d make a great couple. 

“So Amber, when are you leaving?” Rose asked. 

Amber shrugged, “Mom has to go back to summer tonight, but dad said I could wait till tomorrow to winnow to Autumn.”

Andras and Rose exchanged a look, “I thought you were going to Day first.” he said. 

She shook her head, turning slightly sullen, “Eris shortened his trip, so if I don’t go now, I won’t be able to see just grandma. He’s fine with me, but since dad’s going, we want to avoid another argument.” she laughed softly. 

“If you’re going to Day last, you can go to Night around the same time I get back.” Rose said excitedly.

Amber beamed, “Sure, but you know we’re all going to see each other in Winter, right? Andras, why don’t you come to Night afterward, we can have a proper reunion.”

He smiled softly, “Sure, I’ll ask my parents tonight.” he looked up at the darkening sky, “Maybe we should go inside, it’s getting late.” 

They went inside the mansion, finding Cressenda, Elain and Emerie in the sitting room drinking tea. Elain beamed at them, then noticed the dirt on their clothes, “Maybe you should change before dinner.” she said. 

“Is father joining us tonight?” Amber asked. 

Cressenda smiled sadly at her daughter, “Sorry darling, he and Tamlin are out.” 

Rose looked at her mother, Elain gave her daughter a slight shake of her head. They all headed upstairs and changed for dinner. Afterward, Cressenda left, Elain and Rose said their goodbyes the next morning. Amber left a while after that with her father. 

Lucien and Tamlin had come back at dawn, Lucien hadn’t gone to sleep, since he had to take Amber to the Autumn Court. Tamlin still hadn’t woken up when she left at lunch. Emerie put an arm around her son’s shoulders, “Don’t fret son, you’ll see her in a week.” she kissed his head, then headed back into the house. 

- - - - -

The morning after a party was always crazy in the castle. Most of the adults had hangovers, more correctly, most of the males had headaches. Aelin and Aedion came to breakfast grumpy and green. Some of the court didn’t even show up. 

Gav groaned when he sat down, he looked around the table frowning, “Does anyone know where Carmen is?” 

His mother narrowed her eyes at him, “No. Why don’t you know where she is?” 

“She went with the twins last night, I thought she’d be at breakfast.”

“Which twins?” Aedion asked, sitting next to his wife. 

“Both.”

Mari came to sit next to her parents with Rhoe, “Gwen and Connie chose the twins for their haunt and said they’d be leaving the castle grounds.”

“Well has anyone seen them today?” Aelin asked, slightly worried. 

Everyone was quiet. Ava came into the full dining room, looking worried. She looked around half frantic, wringing her hands, “Has anyone seen Gwen?” she asked. 

“Relax Ava, they said they might not come back until morning.” said Rhoe. 

Ava shook her head, her body starting to shake, “I can’t feel them, either of them. The bonds, it’s like someone threw a sheet over them, I can’t feel them.” 

Elide came up to her daughter’s side, setting her down in a chair. “Breathe honey.” she said, “Did something happen to them?”

Ava shook her head, taking deep breaths. “Nothing bad happened, but one moment they were there, the next, I couldn’t feel either of them.” 

Elide looked at Fenrys and Vera worriedly. Aelin got up from her chair, looking to her eldest daughter, “Did the twins say where they were going?”

Rhoe shook his head, “They said one of the Staghorn mountains, don’t know which one.”

“The big one.” said Vera, “I told them a legend about it, they must have found the path to the top.” 

Aelin was about to ask her to lead the way, when Elena came bursting into the room, sobbing. She was cold from the night, and was panting when she finally stopped. Everyone looked to the door she had entered from to find the rest of their children weren’t there. 

Elena put her head in her hands and started sobbing, “Momma.” she cried. 

Aelin hugged her daughter, stroking her back, “It’s ok sweety, what happened?”

“There was a stone, and blood, and then they were gone.” she shuddered. 

“Blood? Was anyone hurt?” Rowan demanded. Aelin shot her husband a look, gently rocking her daughter. 

She calmed down enough to look at her parents, “Gavin and Connie cut their fingers and when Connie’s blood touched the stone, it glowed blue. They all touched it and disappeared, but I couldn’t get through.”

Aelin pinned Vera with a hard stare, "Show us the mountain."


	3. Welcome to the Night Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm a horrible person, or rather author. I've become what I hate: an author who starts a story in the middle of another one. If after ch.9, I don't update every day, that means I'm working on my two other stories I'm writing. I know two doesn't sound like a lot but I'm also writing an original, and my brain is content to give me five thousand ideas for separate fics an hour. Bear with me!

They were on a mountain range, a very cold mountain range. “It’s freezing.” Gavin said, tucking his arms in for warmth. Carmen sidled up next to her cousin, the twins doing the same. 

“Ok, so we’re lost in a mountain range we don’t recognize.” said Connie. 

“And we’ve never been trained for this.” Said Gwen. 

“So what do we do?” asked Carmen.

The twins exchanged a look. “We find shelter.” they chorused. The others nodded. 

The huddled for warmth most of the night, when they finally found a cave, they started a fire and slept. Gwen and Connie woke at the same time, to the sound of wings. 

They woke Carmen and Gavin, “Get up, we hear wings.” Connie said.

“Wyverns?” Carmen asked, fully alert.

Gwen shook her head, frowning towards the entrance, “Too small. There are five of them, male, and  _ really _ big. Get behind us.”

They pulled at the few weapons they carried, as five hulking males with bat wings entered the cave. Carmen’s eyes widened in pure delight as she took in the massive wigs they each had folded neatly on their backs. 

One of them spoke in a strange accent, “Who are you, what are you doing on our sacred mountain?”

“We aren’t looking for a fight, we just needed a place to wait out the cold.” Gwen said in an even tone. 

“We’ll leave if you want us to.” Connie said, relaxing the hand on her knife. 

One of them, a male whose left arm was covered in burns, walked forward, “You are to come with us.” he said gruffly. 

“No need, we were just leaving.” Said Gwen lightly. She walked past the first male, but two more were in her way. “Let us leave, please.” Her tone had a hint of violence to it. 

The males in front of her sneered, “You’re coming with us.” 

Connie was immediately at her sister’s side, “Make us.” she growled. 

One of them grabbed her, the other taking Gwen’s arm - they struck. 

- - - - -

Rhea was in the camp, monitoring the training of three young girls, when the mountain shook and a great roar was heard, a woman’s roar. She sighed, “Never send a male to do a female’s job.” She left one of the overseers to watch the girls, then spread her wings and flew towards Ramiel mountain. 

When she landed, she had to fight the urge to laugh. Two of the males she’d sent were groaning in the snow, one was being pinned by a dark haired girl and silver haired boy. The other two were engaging in battle with two black panthers, both of which were smaller than average. 

One of the males on the ground noticed her and stood stiffly, “What happened?” she asked, raising a brow at the two who were being beaten by the panthers. 

“Two of them could shift, the other two are strong, and well trained.” he said. 

She glanced at the two who didn’t look any older than her, then turned back to the male, “Two young fae who don’t have powers, and two whose animal forms are small, bested you?” He looked like he really wanted to glare at her. 

She smirked, then whistled through her teeth, everyone looked at her. She shook her head slightly, “To think you’re nearly four times their size.” She glanced at the strangers, “I’m sorry if they were rough, I told them to bring you to me unharmed.” She shrugged, “Males.”

There was a flash of light, then there were two females in place of the panthers. One of them growled at the male on the ground, she reminded Rhea of Lucien, with her red hair and tan skin. The one next to her looked almost identical, though she had long golden hair. 

The one with blonde hair said to her, “You should keep a better leash on your males.” she said it while growling at one of the others. 

A few of them went pale, which Rhea noted with no small bit of satisfaction. She smiled, “Apologies, these Illyrians can be brutes, but this is our sacred mountain and we didn’t appreciate your intrusion.” 

She spoke in a way that made it clear she was the one in charge, and most likely high born. She smiled once again, “If you’d allow me to bring you to our encampment, I can get you warmer clothes and some food.”

The autumn female growled at her, but her sister was looking at the younger fae. “Thank you for your kindness.” she said, putting a hand on her sister’s shoulder, “We would love food.”

“Gwen.” he sister quietly scolded. 

“We need food Connie, or Carmen and Gavin will starve.” She said quietly, but firmly to her sister. Rhea could tell she was the eldest in the group.

She glanced at her Illyrian soldiers, she didn’t think any of these fae would be willing to be carried by them. “Our camp is a few miles away, it’ll take a little while for you to walk there.”

The twins looked at each other, “Where is it.” asked the older girl, Gwen.

“If you go a few feet that way,” she said, gesturing behind her, “You’ll be able to see the smoke from the fires.”

The girls moved to the spot she indicated, then looked at each other. It reminded Rhea of the way her parents looked at each other when they spoke down their mating bond. Gwen disappeared, then reappeared and nodded.

“Carm, you’re with me, Gavin go with Connie.” she said. 

The boy went up to Connie, trying not to stare at Rhea. They all disappeared, she sighed, then turned to the males who were gaping, “Get back to camp and don’t say anything about them.” then she disappeared. 

- - - - -

The camp was strange, there were tents and wooden shops, multiple males in training rings, and everyone had wings. They winnowed into the center of the camp, the commanding female coming up beside them and ushering to the farther edges, to a small house. She pushed them into the house, when they turned she had no wings and was wearing a simple tunic and pants, instead of the leathers she had on earlier. 

“I don’t know if it’s a deathwish you have coming into this territory, but last time I checked Spring courtiers were still banned here.” She said exasperated. “Didn’t Tamlin make a proclamation or something?” She huffed and collapsed in a chair. 

“What’s a spring courtier, and where are we, and what’s an Illyrian?” asked Carmen breathlessly. “Also, is there a bathroom?” the female pointed to a door, which Carmen practically ran to before hurling her guts. 

Gavin knocked on the door, “Carm, you ok?” a grumble was her only reply. 

“I think you made my cousin sick.” he said to Gwen. 

She gave him a dry look, “I’d expect it since I’ve never done that before.” 

Rhea frowned, “You’ve never winnowed before?” Gwen shook her head. Rhea sucked in a breath, then blew it out slowly. “Okay then, I’m Rhea, daughter of the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court. Who are you and why are you in my lands?”

“I’m Gwen, this is my twin Connie, that’s Gavin.”

“The one puking up her guts is my cousin Carmen.” Gavin said, still at the bathroom door. 

“He’s the prince of Terrasen, and we’re…. Are we princesses?” Connie asked her sister. 

Gwen shrugged, “I think so, we are Whitethorns so technically, we’re also ladies.” she said, “Carmen is also a princess of Terrasen and Wendlyn, as well as a lady of Caraverre.”

“I’ve never heard of that place.” Rhea said, confused. 

“Nobody has, the official area is only about two decades old.” said Gavin.

“No, I mean, yes, I don’t know of Caraverre, but I’ve never heard of any of these other territories either.” She sighed, “You’re in the Night Court, the northernmost territory in Prythian. I don’t know where Terrasen or Wendlyn are.”

Gwen bit her lip, “So the legend was true.”

Carmen came out of the bathroom, slightly paler than before, “Is there anyone who’d know how to get home? And preferably without winnowing.” 

Rhea thought for a minute, “My aunt might know something, she’s the oldest in the court.”

“Great, is she around?” Carmen looked out one of the windows, as though Rhea’s aunt might waltz through the door. 

Rhea smiled sympathetically, “She lives in a city a few hundred miles from here, I’d have to winnow you.” Carmen groaned. 

“The sooner we winnow, the sooner we can get home.” said Gavin, rubbing his cousin’s back. 

Rhea held out her hands, “We can be there quickly and I can get you some food.” they all seemed to contemplate her outstretched hands for a minute, then the twins each took a hand while grabbing onto Carmen and Gavin. 

It was swirling black night, stars twinkling even in the fog, then they were in a bright city, those same stars shining above their heads. 

“Whoa.” Gavin breathed, “It’s beautiful.” He took in the city from the balcony they landed on. There were lively streets, no slums in sight, and a beautiful rainbow river flowing out to sea. It was lit with enough light to illuminate but not take away the stars, all of the shops and restaurants were open and people were laughing. 

Rhea led them into a sitting room, waving her hand, the table was suddenly laden with food of all kinds. “This smells amazing.” said Carmen, she didn’t throw up this time. 

“Welcome to Velaris.” Rhea smiled, sitting on a chair, her legs propped up. “This is my parents’ place, my apartment is undergoing renovations, but you’re welcome to stay here, we have plenty of room.”

“Thank you.” said Carmen, already shoveling food into her plate. 

A slight humming met their ears, making them pause their eating. The night was turning to dawn, lighting up the room. A young female came into the room, humming and swinging her arms, she had dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

She started rifling through a desk drawer, “Hey have you seen my mother's flower clippers, she said she left them in here.”

“Rose?” Rhea said, a hint of humor in her tone.

“Yeah the ones she uses for the rose bushes, Nuala didn't clip them while we were gone and they overgrew. Now I have to help her get them back under control.”

“Rose?”

“Yes, the rose bushes are a mess, do you know where they are or not Rhea?”

Rhea stood and walked over to Rose, then clapped her hands in front of her face. The girl jumped back with a squeak, the shadows in the room stirring. “Rhea, what was that for?”

Rhea laughed, “Look up.” 

She did, and she immediately blushed upon noticing the four fae at the table, “Oh, hi. Who are your friends?” she frowned, “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be checking on the camps?”

Rhea nodded, “Yes, I was, and then I met four very peculiar fae. I’m taking them to Amren in the morning.”

Rose tilted her head, “Amren’s in Summer Court with Varian and the twins, some celebration that Tarquin insisted they attend.” At Rhea’s raised brows, she quickly added, “They left a day after you.” 

Rhea grumbled, then, remembering her companions, she pointed to Rose, “This is my cousin Rose. Rose, this is Gwen, Connie, Carmen, and Gavin.” 

Rose smiled, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Rose Archeron, get out here right now, these rose bushes are trying to kill me!” Rose winced as a female’s voice rang through the house. 

“That’s my mother, I gotta go.” She turned to leave the room, but her cousin put a hand on her shoulder.

Rhea handed her a pair of clippers, “You should look in your gardening apron when searching for gardening tools.” she said sarcastically. 

Rose blinked a few times, then smiled thankfully and left the room. Rhea laughed to herself, “They’re never getting those under control.” She strode back to the chair she had been sitting in, and flopped down. 

“Well, apparently my aunt isn’t here, so we’ll either have to wait or figure it out ourselves.”

“Isn’t there someone else who could help us, how much older can your aunt possibly be.” said Gavin.

She shook her head, “She’s fifteen thousand years old and used to live in a different world, she’s the only one who knows anything about world hopping.”

They gaped a little, and she couldn’t help giggling when Carmen started blinking rapidly. Someone winnowed in front of Connie, making her jump out of her seat as he sat down. 

He had short white hair and dark skin, he put his head in his hands and breathed out a deep sigh. Rhea frowned, “Rose said you and Ali were in Summer Court.”

He raised blue and silver eyes to her, “I’m supposed to be there, doesn’t mean I want to be there.” Rhea opened her mouth, “Don’t worry,” he cut her off, “the party’s over, I don’t have to attend anything else, I just skipped the afterparty.” 

“Are all your relatives blind?” Connie quipped from where she was standing.

Rhea stood and dumped the male on the floor, “This is my friend Asher, he’s Amren’s son.” He scowled at her from the floor, “Where’s Ali?” she asked as she and Connie sat down again.

He stood, brushing invisible dust off his tunic, “She’s indulging herself. And if you want to throw me on the floor, wait till training, I like this outfit.” She stuck out her tongue at him. 

“He reminds me of Elliot.” mumbled Carmen. 

Asher raised a brow at her, “And who are you?”

“That’s Carmen and her cousins Gavin, Connie, and Gwen.” said Rhea, reaching for the cheese platter. 

“More twins, that’s what we need.” Snorted Connie. 

“Oh gods, Elena.” Gavin exclaimed. 

Carmen blanched, “Our parents are going to kill us.”

“For being sucked into another world, no, but if Elena and the others lie to our parents, they’ll definitely be dead.” said Gwen.

“Wait, you’re from another world?” asked Asher. 

They all nodded, “Why not just ask my mother about it?” he said to Rhea.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Because she’s in Adriata, which isn’t here.”

He rolled his eyes, sitting on the arm of a chair, “So winnow to Adriata and ask her, it’s not like you can’t go that far.”

She opened her mouth, then shut it and glared at him. He chuckled, “I love it when you realize I’m right.” He stood and offered a hand to the twins, “Shall we go ladies?” 

Rhea stood and put a hand in front of his, “One, it’s dawn, nobody’s gonna be awake. Two, I’ve been up all night and winnowed from the mountains, I need sleep." With that, she stormed past him into the hall, leading them to various rooms, and collapsing on her own bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my insta for sneak peeks. @I_do_carme
> 
> Kudos/comments rly appreciated.


	4. The Other House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I'm late, my wifi was not being nice, so I had to murder my punching bag for exercise. I'm also experiencing back pains, and I'm so dumb I'm gonna keep writing and refusing to ice it.

It was the next morning in Velaris, and the twins, Gavin, and Carmen had woken up early to watch the sun rise. “Has anyone else noticed that their climate is surprisingly warm for being so far north?”

“That’s the magic around the house.” Everyone jumped as they finally noticed Rose and Rhea on the roof with them. Rose walked forward, leaning over the edge, “Once you get into the streets of the city, it gets pretty cold. It even snows in winter.” 

Unlike yesterday, both girls now had large bat-like wings, large and black. Rhea noticed Gavin staring at them, and blushed slightly, “Rose and I were going to go for a morning flight, we didn’t think you’d be up.”

Carmen stared off at the sun rise, “It’s too cold to see sunrises properly most of the year.” she said, “I also couldn’t sleep.”

The others nodded in agreement. Rhea looked worried, “Were you uncomfortable? We can change your rooms if you need it.” she said. 

Connie waved her off, “We’re fine, just not used to falling through portals into other dimensions.”

Rose laughed, “I like your friends Rhea.” She glanced out at the sunset, then peered up at the house of wind. “You know, the house does have a much better view.” she said to them. 

“Aren’t we at the house?” asked Gwen. 

Rhea grinned, “This is the river house, that,” she said, pointing at the large mountain, “is the house of wind.” Her wings stretched out, “We can take you, it’s warded from winnowing, so we’ll have to fly.”

Carmen and Gavin stared at their wings in awe, but the twins just raised their brows, “I’m not being carried.” said Connie. 

Her sister nodded her agreement, “Yeah, I think we handled our powers enough to shift, so we’ll be fine.” She took a second look at the wings, “But I definitely want to learn to fly with those.” she stated. 

Connie and Gwen’s skin started to glow, the light became blinding, and when everyone looked again, there were two great eagles in their place. The eagles clicked their beaks, then flapped their wings. They were wobbly at first, but they evened out their wings and headed toward the mountain. Rhea turned to Gavin and held out a hand, “Shall we?” He smiled, then took her hand. Rose held out a hand for Carmen, who took it eagerly, while still inspecting their wings. 

When they landed Carmen and Gavin swayed on their feet. Carmen saw the eagles still perched on the railing, “Why haven’t you two shifted back?” 

One of them tilted its head, it squacked a few times, then seemed to curse and shake its head. “She said they don’t know if their clothes will still be there, then she cursed a lot.” said Gavin, he frowned slightly at her, “You have a filthy mouth Connie.” 

The eagle glared at him, she gave him a few taunting squacks making him laugh. “Ok, that’s fair. Why don’t you find an alcove or something and test it.”

The other eagle rolled her eyes, there was a blinding flash, then Gwen stood in front of them, fully clothed. Rose and Rhea had turned their heads, while Gavin had almost jumped off the balcony. “What if you were naked?!” he exclaimed, still not looking at her. 

Gwen shrugged, “You’ve seen a naked woman before, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Ew, you’re our cousin.” said Carmen, making a gag noise. 

Connie shifted, “We’re not remotely related to you Carm, and Gavin is the most flexible version of a cousin, don’t be so dramatic.” 

Rhea slowly turned back to them, “Well now that that’s resolved, why don’t we eat something.” She led them inside to a large dining room. The table was as long as the one in their own home, able to hold twice the size of their family. Rhea snapped her fingers and large platters of breakfast foods piled in the center of the table. Carmen squeaked as a plate appeared before her. 

About halfway through their meal, Asher came in. He picked up an apple, then heard toward a side door, until Rhea stopped him. “Where the hell are you going?” 

He stopped mid-bite, “Training.” he grinned at her, “You know, that thing we do daily with Cassian. The thing you always sleep in for.” he said, giving her a knowing look. 

She frowned at him, “You’re a pig.”

“Isn’t that why you all love me though?” 

Rose clicked her tongue, turning back to her plate, “Apparently both of Amren’s children are horrible.” 

He rolled his eyes, then left out the door. He poked his head in the door a moment later, “Guess who Cassian is calling?” He said, grinning at both of them. 

Rhea threw a bread roll at his face, “Jerk.” 

Rose giggled, “You too Rosy posy.” he said. 

Rose groaned, she turned to their guests, “Wanna join us?” 

They all shrugged, “Sure.” they replied. 

When they went out through the door, they were in a training room - more like a ledge - as it was outside in the open air. The wind was crazy outside, but it didn't even touch them. There was a large male with shoulder length black hair sparring with another male with cropped black hair and brilliant blue eyes, both of them had wings. 

They both stopped when they noticed their audience. Rhea squealed and went running up to the male with blue eyes, pouncing on him, causing him to drop his sword. “Rhea, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at Ramiel.” 

She pulled away from him narrowing her eyes, “What are  _ you _ doing  _ here _ ? I thought you were held up in spring for another week.” 

He laughed nervously, “Well… Apparently father already got it done, so I got back yesterday after visiting Kallum in Winter Court.”

She smacked his shoulder, “Nik, I was freezing up there.” 

Nik hugged her to his chest. “It builds character RaeRae, besides, I was technically busy.”

“With your boyfriend.” she groused. He just chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. 

Rose, meanwhile, had gone to the other male. Now that Nik was free, she jumped on him. “Hey, Rosy Posy.” he said. 

Cassian glanced at the other fae who had come out. Rhea turned to them smiling, “This is my brother, Nikolas. Nik, this is Connie, Gwen, Gavin, and Carmen.”

“More twins?” he said, raising a brow. 

Connie snorted, “That’s what I said.”

“Are we training or are we talking?” Asher pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against and strolled over to Cassian. 

“Where’s Ali?” the male asked. 

He shrugged, “Doing something I’d rather not think about. Where’s Amber?” he asked this to Rose. 

She pursed her lips, “Currently basking in the sunshine of Day, she went to Autumn first to avoid Eris. Hellion should send her off happy as a bird.” Rose tied back her hair, her wings once again appearing on her back as she positioned herself in a fighting stance. “Now, are we fighting, or are we talking?” 

Asher chuckled, and they both started sparring. Rhea hung back, “You can join us if you want.” she said to Gavin. 

He smiled at her, “Don’t use your wings on me and you got a deal.” she laughed, then led him into the ring. 

“Aww, aren’t they adorable.” said Gwen. 

Connie made sniffling sounds, “Our little boy is all grown up.” She grinned at her sister, “Who do you think would win in panther form?” 

Gwen raised her brows, “Since neither of us ever win in human form, probably neither.” She grinned, “But I’ll take you on in human form. Panthers might get a little messy.” her sister nodded, and they both took a defensive stance. 

It hadn’t taken Rhea long to pin Gavin. SHe was straddling him, holding a knife to his throat. “I thought that’d be easier.” she said, panting. 

He laughed, “Don’t worry, I know I’m not that good. I consider myself more of a scholar than a fighter.” 

She giggled, “So does my friend Andras, though he doesn’t take it as well as you.” She held out a hand, turning her head to look at the twins. “Do they always look like they’re about to kill someone when they fight?”

They stood up and he followed her gaze, “Pretty much, they’re the best fighters out of all of us, they could take down full blooded centuries old fae males in minutes. It’s kind of scary.” 

She laughed nervously, “That sounds terrifying, remind me never to get on their bad side.”

He led her around a wide radius of the twins while saying, “They don’t attack anyone without provocation, and that just means they hurt one of us. But if anyone tries to hurt one of them or Ava, the other will go ballistic.”

“Has that ever happened?” 

Gavin’s eyes misted and he seemed to shrink into himself a little, “Once, when they were ten.” He didn’t give her anything else, and she didn’t ask.

Cassian had been observing the newcomers with Nik, they didn’t seem like they intended any harm, but one could never be too careful. Rose had pinned Asher and now the twins were the only ones fighting. They were strong fighters, they didn’t use any weapons and seemed to be evenly matched. The red head threw a hard punch, which the blonde dodged, turning to get her sister off balance. The blonde one threw a maneuver that the red head blocked, but late enough that both of them went crashing to the ground. 

The red head, Connie, clapped her hand on the ground. “Ow.” she said. 

Her sister laughed, “I agree with that.” They both sat up rubbing their heads, “Maybe I should have fought Carmen.” said Gwen. 

“No thanks.” the girl chimed. 

Nik looked at Cassian, “They’re impressive. They look younger than me.”

Cassian nodded, “How old are you two.” he asked them.

“Twenty-three.” they chorused. 

Cassian raised a brow, “Who trained you?”

“Fae.” said Gwen.

“Humans.” said Connie. 

“Witches.” said Carmen. 

“Multiple gods-blessed individuals.” Gavin deadpanned.

He frowned, “Witches?”

Carmen nodded, “Yup, lots of witches, they’re queen is our aunt.”

“No blood relation.” corrected Connie. 

Cassian nodded, “Well you’re very impressive for being so young.”

Gwen looked him up and down, “Were they trained by you?” she asked, nothing mocking in her tone. 

Rhea smiled, “Him plus my dad and uncle, and our aunts, plus a few high lords.” 

“What’s a high lord?” asked Gavin. 

“Think of a king, but the mantle can go to any of his sons and they gain extreme power when their father dies.” said Asher nonchalantly. 

Gwen raked her fingers through her hair, “That sounds like the Khagans in Antica.” she said. “So you don’t have kings or queens?”

Rose shook her head, “There are princes and princesses, but no kings or queens anymore.”

“Lemme guess, you had a horribly oppressive queen and people rose up and killed her in a big war?” said Connie. 

“King, but yeah basically.” said Rose. 

“Why did all the interesting wars happen before we were born?” asked Carmen. 

“We got to fight humans when you were seven.” said Gavin sarcastically. Carmen glared at him. 

Everyone headed back inside, except Carmen, who stood soaking in the sunlight. “Hey Carm, you coming?” Gwen asked. 

Carmen’s head was tipped back and her eyes were closed, “I have the sudden overwhelming urge to lay down and take a nap in the sun.” she said lazily. 

“You sound like a cat.” said Gavin.

“She sounds like her mom before she turns into a ghost leopard.” said Connie. “And I thought Gav was born a leopard.” She took Carmen’s hand and led her inside. 

- - - - -

Vera stood at the top of the biggest mountain in the Staghorns, looking out over the still low sun. The dark obelisk glowed blue and fizzed. A small shrouded figure appeared, her short dark hair cut just above her shoulder, her silver eyes going directly to Vera. 

“I found them.” she said. 

Vera didn’t look at her as she said, “Where, Velaris?”

“Yes, they’re safe, with my son and nieces.”

Vera now looked at her, “Who knew I had cousins.” she said sarcastically. “Thanks Amren.”

Amren came up beside her to look at the large empire laid at their feet. “What’s family for.” 

She snorted, “How long has it been for them?” 

“A few days.”

“And they haven’t tried to get back yet?”

Amren looked at Vera, whose expression was unreadable. “They’re having fun, a lot of fun. They think I’m somewhere else, they want to wait for me to come back.”

“How do you know that?” 

She shrugged, “I just know.”

Vera sighed through her nose, “Make sure they don’t stay out after dark.” she said, starting to walk down the mountain.

“Vera,” Amren said, making her stop, “they’ll be fine, I promise. But for the sake of appearances, maybe you should send someone in after them.”

Vera nodded, “I’ll send in some of the kids, no reason they shouldn’t also get a taste of freedom.” She disappeared behind a bend, leaving Amren alone. Amren cut her hand on a side of the obelisk and streaked her blood over the markings. The blood moved to cover the symbols, making the obelisk glow blue, then Amren was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you check out my insta @I_do_carme you can see part of the outline for this story. 
> 
> Kudos and Comments greatly appreciated.


	5. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amren's in this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible person! I want to write a time travel fic, because I can only find like six, and I think they're awesome. I still have three or four more complete chapters, and I'll try to write the others as soon as I can, but it also depends on school. I'll also try to write more over Thanksgiving break, I was originally going to celebrate with my aunt and cousins in Oregon, but, well, Covid is a bitch.   
> I hope everyone is safe, and congrats for reading my complete ramble.

Dinner in Orynth was nice, dinner in the house of wind was delightful. Velaris had many foods that reminded the twins of the food they often taste when going to Antica. They all talked a lot, Asher eventually rose to a better mood and started to socialize. Nik had to leave halfway through, getting called away by his parents, “I’m not going to tell them you have guests, you can do that yourself.” he had told his sister before wings appeared at his back and he jumped off a balcony. 

Connie looked at the balcony he had disappeared on, “Would you judge me if I jumped off that balcony?” she asked Gwen. 

Gwen shook her head, “If you survive, I’ll go next.” her twin smiled at her deviously. “But I wouldn’t do it on a full stomach.” Gwen advised. 

The next morning, everyone once again got up to watch the sunrise. “I think the beds in here are somehow softer than the ones in Adarlan.” Said Carmen, stretching her arms out. 

“No bed in the universe is softer than the ones Dorian Havillard handpicks.” stated Gavin, “He has more taste for luxury than my mother.” 

Carmen shrugged, “Maybe it was just my fur then.” 

Rhea raised her brows, “You shifted last night?”

Carmen nodded proudly, “It took me nearly an hour but I finally managed a ghost leopard. A very small ghost leopard.”

Rhea’s purple eyes twinkled, “Can I see?” she asked eagerly.

Carmen’s skin glowed, then there was a small white leopard with emerald eyes staring up at them. Rose knelt down and rubbed her ears, “You’re so cute.” she cooed. 

“You look like a smaller version of Lysandra when she used to do that.” Connie said, shuddering. Gwen nodded her head in agreement. 

Rhea looked at her in awe, “She’s so cute, and fluffy, and soft.” The last word was barely a whisper, as she knelt down and started stroking her. 

They watched the sun rising, just as it fully reached over the horizon, a flash of light came from the city below. “What was that?” said Rose, standing up to survey the city. 

There was a flare of red and a burst of energy. Gwen’s eyes snapped to where the light came from, “I know that magic.” she mumbled. Before they could say anything, she was shifting, her sister with her, and soaring down the mountain. 

Rose scooped up the tiny leopard Carmen in her arms, tucking her tight to her chest. Rhea took Gavin, Asher rolling his eyes as he was left behind. When the twins landed, they were met with the back view of a female with long black hair and a powerful shield. There was another burst of light from her and a whip of shadow from somewhere that they couldn’t detect. 

Rhea and Rose landed next to them, “Ali?” Rhea shouted at the female. 

She didn’t respond, but a small tear opened in her shield. They all stepped inside it. Ali growled when a blast of flame hit her, “I could use some help here.” she said to them. 

There was fog covering their view of the assailant. “What happened?” asked Rose, still holding onto Carmen. 

Ali glared at the fog, “I found fae sneaking in, they smelled… off.” She narrowed her eyes at the twins, “One of them smelled like you.” she said. 

Gwen’s eyes were sparkling, a wide smile on her face. She stepped past Ali and whistled, a minute later, three figures emerged from the trees. There were two females, and a tiger. The tiger glowed and shifted into a male, whose eyes narrowed directly onto the ghost leopard in Rose’s arms. 

Carmen wriggled in Rose’s grasp and jumped down from her arms, she pounced on Gav in a few long leaps. Gav barely moved as he held her out for him to observe, he raised a brow, “You look like mom.” he said. The leopard licked him, purring softly. 

Gwen went running into one of the female’s arms, she cupped her face, “Are you okay?” she asked, looking her over. 

Ava placed her hands on Gwen’s, “I’m fine.” She grinned, summoning a tendril of shadow, “I think I finally figured out how to control my magic.”

“How’d you do it?” Gwen whispered, pressing their brows together. 

Ava smirked, “Determination and no room for error.” 

Gwen pulled away and gave her a peck on the lips, “I’ll repay you tonight.” she whispered so no one would hear. 

Gavin had gone over to Mari, who looked very close to pummeling him. He looked behind her, expecting to see the other Galathynius daughter, “Where’s Elena?” he asked. 

Mari’s face softened, “She’s fine, she doesn’t know we’re here.” her face became hard again, “But I’m about to kill you, so it doesn’t matter.” He chuckled nervously. 

“What the hell was that?” they all turned to see Asher standing next to his sister. “Seriously, where the hell are you all coming from?”

Ali frowned at her brother, “You know these people?” she demanded. 

He waved her off, “Four of them.”

She glared at him, “Explain.”

He barely acknowledged her. He waved a hand over the assembled group, “Friends?” he asked the twins. 

Gwen was tucked close to Ava, while her sister was now between the Prythians and Mari. “This is my mate Ava, Carmen’s brother Gav, and Gavin’s brother Mari.” she introduced. 

Gav was scratching his sister’s head, “What did you do to my sister?” he asked them. 

Connie looked indignant, “That accusatory Gavriel, and rude.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Carm.” he said to his sister. She looked up at him with her emerald eyes, licking her lips. She rolled off him and shifted back to her fae form. 

She stood and stretched her limbs, “I get why mom was always in that form, it’s very comfortable.” He blew out a breath and shook his head, rubbing her head. 

“Again, who the hell are you?” said Ali, the silver in her eyes staring to writhe with magic. She turned to her brother, “Asher, explain.”

Her brother sighed, “You’re a ray of sunshine, you know that.” She growled at him, making him grin, “Rhea found them on Ramiel a few days ago, and we’ve been entertaining them. Apparently you prefer to fight them, but who can blame you, they’re the only challenge we’ve seen in years.” He glanced bordly at Gav, “Where’d you come from?” he asked coolly. 

Gav narrowed his eyes at the male, “A mountain.” he looked at the twins, “We couldn’t get back to Erilea.”

Gwen looked surprised, “If you tried, that means you found the way back?” she asked. 

He nodded, “Black obelisk, just like the other one, I don’t think our blood works on it.” 

Connie raised a brow, “Then how’d you get here?” she asked, looking behind him to see if anyone was still hiding. 

He grinned, “Your mother is very willing to send her friends children into possible doom. She used her blood, it opened. She gave us three days until she opens it again.”

Gwen cocked her head, “How long has it been on your end?” 

“You disappeared around midnight, so twelve hours maybe.” said Ava. 

Carmen blinked at her, “We’ve been here three days.”

Connie perked up hearing this, “So if mom gave you three days… that means we don’t have to go back for, oh, eightteen-ish days.” She grinned, then turned to Rhea, “Got any nice parties coming up?”

“We have the winter ball in two weeks.” Rose chirped. 

Gwen linked arms with her sister and mate, “Then we’re going to a ball.”

Asher shrugged, “As long as I’m not the only male, I’m cool.”

“What about Nik?” asked Rhea.

“It’s the winter ball Rhea, he’s going to be in Winter with Kallum.”

“Oh right.” she said, “Anyways, we should figure out a way to get them all into the house, the manor will not be able to fit them.” she said, glancing between the group and the mountain. 

Asher groaned, “I know I’m going to regret this, but I’m too hungry and tired to care right now.” He started walking toward the mountain, “Follow me.”

When he stopped, they were at the base of the mountain, in front of a huge lake. “He’s going to drown us, good.” Ali grumped. 

Asher rolled his eyes at his twin, walking to the water’s edge. “There's a cave idiot. Give me a second.” He dipped his hand in the water, the surface starting to ripple. 

The lake rumbled, and the water parted to reveal worn stone steps. Asher motioned for them to go, Rhea was the first to do so, Rose going after her cousin. When they had all made it into the cave, Asher let the water go, sending it splashing onto the surface. He bent over, panting hard, hands on his knees. 

They were in a large cave. The water reflected on the cave walls, incandescent plants growing on the ceiling and walls, lighting up the space. It was a very peaceful space, where they could see stones to sit on and the remnants of a fire. “Welcome to my sanctuary. Ruined now, but I’m still too tired to care.” he said, waving his hand around the space. 

He pointed toward a wooden door, “The door leads directly up into the library, just take the middle passage each time.” he sat down on a rock, still breathing hard. 

“You’re not coming?” asked Rose.

He shook his head, “That was an overexertion I wasn’t ready for, I normally don’t hold it for that long. And there are a lot of stairs.” 

Connie and Carmen sat on the floor and crossed their legs, “Well, I’m also tired.” said Carmen, “I’m not used to shifting.” Connie nodded. 

“Why aren’t you used to it?” Rhea asked as she too sat.

“Magic disappeared on our continent thirteen years ago.” said Ava, as she and Gwen sat down. 

“How?” Rose asked. 

They looked at each other and shrugged, “We were all tucked away.” said Gwen, “The ones responsible for it had kidnapped up before, and our parents wanted us safe and out of harm's way.” she inched slightly closer to Ava, Connie going closer to them and Mari.

They were all silent for a while. Gwen suddenly stood and walked toward the water, dipping her hand in it. She shucked off her shoes, then took off her shirt and got in the water. Ava giggled, “What are you doing?”

Gwen gave her a silly grin, “I was hot, and this water is warmer than in Terrasen.” 

Ava rolled her eyes, but Gwen beckoned her over, and she obliged. When Ava took off her shirt, they got a full view of the two large scars that criss crossed her back. She was laughing and splashing in the water, and didn’t notice the gasp that escaped Rose’s lips. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes still wide. 

Connie rolled her eyes at them, “Saps.” 

Gav nudged her, “Don’t pretend you aren’t about to jump in with them Moonbeam.” 

“Shut it Ashryver.” but she still stood up and shucked off her shirt. She jumped in with her sister, flicking water on both of them. 

Carmen took Rose’s hand and led her into the lake, Gavin was about to object when Rhea grabbed his shirt, “C’mon, isn’t it every male’s dream to be in the water with a bunch of half naked females?” she said tauntingly. 

“Not when those females are my relatives.” he deadpanned. 

She grinned, “I’m not your relative.” He smiled dreamily as she led him to the water. 

Mari looked at Gav, “Not going in?” 

He smiled, “I am, are you?” he asked. 

She sighed dramatically, “If you’re going to be so insistent, why not?” 

He grinned, walking into the water and - of course - making a b-line for Connie. “He’s going to get himself drowned.” Mari mumbled under her breath. She turned around to see Ali and Asher still sitting. “Coming?” she asked them. 

Ali was glaring at nothing in particular, while Asher just shook his head, “I’m fine.”

She shrugged. When she reached the water’s edge, she took off her shirt. Asher’s face drained of color when he saw what was there: from her shoulders to her hips, there were large scars crisscrossing all over her back. He could only see about five of them, though he knew there were more. 

He turned to see his sister had also turned pale. “How…” she trailed off. 

Rhea noticed her stare and stopped what she was doing, “Where’d you get those?” she asked, motioning to her back. 

Mari blinked a few times, then sunk a little deeper into the water, “I was whipped when I was young.”

“Who the hell would whip a kid?” she asked, her violet eyes turning dark. 

Mari shrugged, not saying anything, when Ali suddenly stood. They felt a small ripple of magic as she stormed up the stairs. “I’ll see you at dinner, mother and father will be coming tomorrow morning.” she said to her brother before leaving. 

Asher turned to Mari with an apologetic look, “Don’t mind her, she gets antsy around wounds.”

“Doesn’t seem like the type.” said Carmen, frowning at the door. 

“It’s a triggering image for her.” he said. “It’s nothing personal, you have full rights to just ignore her.” he said, following his sister out the door. 

- - - - -

Asher had been shocked to see Mari’s back, he was even more shocked to learn the reason behind them. He had caught up with his sister on the stairs, catching her arm, “Ali.” He got her to stop. 

She narrowed her eyes at him, “What?!”

“What the hell was that?” he asked. 

She tried to get out of his grip, but it was firm, “Nothing, I was interested.”

He shook his head, “Did it trigger-”

“Stop it.” she yelled, “Nothing is wrong, I was just poking, I’m sorry.” she didn’t meet his gaze. He thought she would walk away, but she said, “They look like yours.” she whispered. She looked at him with pleading eyes, “When you got your scars, you moved like something hit you.” A tear fell down her cheek, “You were whipping yourself.” She sniffled, then wiped her tears and resumed a stoic expression, “Just drop it.” and she walked away. 

Asher followed after her, “Ali-” when he reached the top of the stairs, he came face to face with his mother. 

“Hello kids.” their mother greeted, her silver eyes bearing into them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG did I make you think Amren was presently in this entire chapter and not just in like three sentences? Sorry \\('-')/  
> Don't worry, she's in the next one a little, and I now plan to have a mainly Amren chapter.... at some point.   
> Anywho, kudos, comments, and good night!


	6. Secrecy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I have abt 3 1/2 chapters to my other fic so I'll probably post that at some point in my lifetime. I don't have exams, and do have a lot of time on my hands, I just lack motivation for things.   
> This story will be on hiatus after chapter 8, but I promise IT WILL BE CONTINUED!!!!  
> Ok, PSA over.

Asher nearly jumped back when he saw his mother, she was still frightening after twenty years. “Mother, Ali said you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.” 

Ali looked behind her mother, “Where’s father?”

Amren surveyed both her children, she had heard them yelling in the stairwell, and they were now actively trying to change the subject. “He’s still in Summer with Tarquin, he’ll be heading to Winter in a few days for the high lords meeting.” She glimpsed the passage they had just come out of, “I had business in the mountains, so I came early.”

Asher and Ali nodded, then turned her around and tried to get her out of the library. “Well,” said Ali, “we should eat some lunch then, shouldn’t we.” 

Amren dug her heels into the floor and slipped out of their grip, “Who’s down there?” she asked, raising her brows at them. 

“Why would you think someone’s down there?” Asher asked innocently. 

Amren rolled her eyes, “You two haven’t gotten along since you were three.” she stated plainly. 

She shouldered past them and quickly descended the steps. She recognized the cavern, as she had been the one who first discovered it nearly a century earlier. It was mostly empty, except for Rose and Rhea, who were chatting as though they hadn’t heard her coming down. 

“Amren!” Rhea exclaimed surprised, “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.” she smiled, standing up to embrace her aunt. 

Amren hugged her niece back, “My plans changed, your parents will be meeting us at Winter court day after tomorrow.” she said to her nieces. 

Rose smacked her face and groaned, “I forgot about the high lords meeting. Do I have to go to that?” she asked her aunt desperately. 

Amren shook her head, “If I have to go, so do all of you. Nuala won’t be able to make it.”

Rhea frowned, “Why does she get to skip?” she asked indignantly. 

“Because she isn’t the high lord and lady’s daughter. And because Rose didn’t go last year, so she gets to skip.” Amren narrowed her eyes at Rose, who still hadn’t moved. “Rose, is there a reason you’re sitting on that rock?”

Rose had been staring into the distance and suddenly snapped back to attention, “Hmm? Oh, yes, sorry.” she got up awkwardly, her wings flaring slightly. 

Amren smiled, “Piece of advice, mask your friends’ scents next time.” she said. 

Slowly, various animals crawled out from behind the rock she’d been sitting on, along with three fae who had been glamoured to the wall.

The shifters turned back to their fae forms, Gavin coming to stand by his sister. Amren’s eyes went immediately to the twins, looking them up and down. She frowned, “You really do look like her.” she mumbled, too quietly for anyone to hear. She looked back at her kids, “As long as they aren’t here to invade, I don’t care. But Rhea, you should tell your parents before the meeting.” she said to the young female. 

Rhea nodded her head, “Thanks, aunt Amren.” 

Amren gave them all one last glance, “We leave for the meeting friday, don’t mention them to any of the other courts.” she warned. Without another word, she went back up the stairs. 

Rose furrowed her brows, “Cassian is back, my mom and dad are on their way to the house now.”

Ava frowned, “Are you talking about the two winged males and the female?”

“How’d you know?” she asked. 

Ava shrugged, “The shadows told me.” as she said it, various shadows wove through her hair and curled around her fingers. 

Rose’s own shadows seemed drawn to her’s, joining together, “Whoa, you’re a shadowsinger too.” she said in disbelief. She smiled, “Let’s go introduce them.” she said to her cousins. She went skipping up the stairs, her shadows coming out in full bloom. 

When she reached the library, she made her way to the main entrance, noticing her parents and Cassian already chatting. Well, Cassian and her mother were, her father was silently watching them, like usual. 

“Hello.” she greeted in a singsong voice. She hugs her parents, giving her father and Cassian a hard squeeze. 

“You seem chipper.” said Cassian, already guessing the reason for it. 

She nodded her head, “Mhmm, I have some people I want you to meet.” she said. 

Azriel noticed how the shadows around his daughter had reduced from their normal amount. “Rose, are you alright?” he asked worriedly. 

His daughter nodded her head, still looking very cheery, “Of course. Oh, father, I met another shadowsinger.” she exclaimed. Now her excitement made sense, another shadowsinger meant the shadows on her own shoulders would decrease. 

They heard chatter, and the twins and Rhea, along with seven other fae, entered the room. “Aunt Elain, uncle Cassian, uncle Azriel.” Rhea greeted, going to hug her relatives. 

She introduced everyone to them. Rose motioned to Ava, “She’s a shadowsinger.” she stated. 

Ava raised a brow, “So that’s what that’s called.”

Gwen chuckled, “Shadowsinger is an accurate description.” one of the shadows on Ava’s shoulder snaked into Gwen’s hair, the female doing nothing to get rid of it. “I think they like me.” she whispered to Ava. 

Elain smiled at them all, “Welcome to the Night Court. Rhea, do your parents know they’re here?” she asked. 

Rhea shook her head sheepishly, “I was going to tell them when we reached Winter Court. Nik already knows, but he said he wouldn’t tell them.”

Elain sighed, “Cauldron, this family and secrets. Anyways, I just came to get a few books, I need to ensure Nesta won’t kill anyone at the meeting.” 

“All I’m hearing is you think there will be a fight.” said Rhea, her violet eyes sparkling. 

Cassian chuckled, “We’ve already made bets.” 

Rhea grinned, “Put me in for Eris starting a fight.”

“I think it’ll be Kallias and Eris again, those two hate each other with a vengeance.” Rose countered. 

“I’d go for Tamlin, he’s very good at pissing people off.” said Asher. 

“Mom.” said Ali, “Mom is going to eviscerate someone, probably Eris.”

“Maybe she’ll kill him, his sons are somehow not as bad as him.” said Asher, thoughtfully. 

“Don’t talk about such things.” Elain hushed them. “And if Eris does start another fight and anyone feels inclined to kill him, it’ll be Lucien.” she stated matter of factly. 

“Maybe someone will insult Kallum and Nik will go barbarian on them.” Rhea said excitedly. 

Cassian huffed a laugh, “That estimate isn’t far off. Why don’t you kids go to the training deck, I need to talk to Az for a minute.”

“An excuse to kick Gav’s ass? I’m in.” Connie said enthusiastically. Gav rolled his eyes as they went outside. 

When they got outside Gav whistled, “Nice view.” he said.

Connie grabbed his shirt and tugged him into the fighting ring while grinning like a fiend, “Come on Ashryver, I need to blow off some steam.”

He grinned at her, “There are other ways to let off steam you know.”

She glared at him, then crouched in a defensive stance. She grinned again, her nails turning into claws and her teeth becoming sharper, then they all got an iron sheen. He gulped, suddenly regretting his jab. She struck first. She had been trained with witches, and she and her sister had figured out how to fight with the iron claws and teeth when they were young. 

He dodged her first attack, and they immediately went at it. “Ooh, ooh, I’m betting three gold on Connie.” Said Carmen. 

“You’re a horrible sister.” said Mari, “Five gold.” 

Gwen chuckled, “You’re a bad cousin Mar, fifteen gold on the beautiful redhead.”

“I’ll go Gav.” said Ava. 

Gwen looked at her shocked, “Why would you waste fifteen gold on Gav?” 

Ava laughed, “Because Connie and Gav both owe me thirty gold.”

“I’m going Connie, that means you get no profits Ava, there’s still time to change your mind.”

“No there’s not.” said Rhea, “She just pinned him.” 

“Damn, that’s quick.” said Asher. “Does she always kick his ass?”

“It's their thing.” said Mari. 

“If Gav ever won, the world would end.” said Carmen, shaking her head. 

“Well he certainly is impressive.” Rose squeaked as her uncle appeared beside her. 

“Stop doing that, you’ll give me a heart attack.” she said. 

He raised a brow, “You’re a shadowsinger, you’re the one who should be sneaking up on me.” 

Rhea giggled, “Rose gets snuck up on by everyone.” 

Rose bristled, “Hey, I zone out.” she said indignantly. 

“I think we did too, when did they start fighting again?” Carmen asked, pointing to Gav and Connie who were now fighting. 

“Where did they get the swords?” Cassian asked, frowning. 

“Oh gods.” Gwen winced as Connie hit Gav, knocking him to the ground. 

She pointed her sword at his heart, “Ava, you owe me thirty gold.” she called. 

Ava grumbled, “Take it from Gwen.” she shouted back. 

Gwen frowned at her, “Why are you using my money?”

“She’s your sister, you don’t have to pay her.” she kissed her on the cheek. “Please, honey.” 

Ali snorted, “This is why I don’t do mates.” she said. 

Gwen rolled her eyes, “Fine, but you owe me.”

“Anything.”

“Spar with me.”

“Anything but that. 

“Oh c’mon, your powers make you a better opponent.”

Ava turned away, “The last time we fought, you nearly broke my neck.”

Gwen nodded, “Mhmm, yes, but I didn’t. And I made it up to you later.” She whispered. 

Ava shook her head. “Nothing could convince me. Go fight Mari.”

“She’ll light me on fire.” Gwen said simply. 

Mari bristled, “Hey, I haven’t done that since I was four.” 

“Yeah, but we haven’t had magic in thirteen years.” Gwen said, “And I’m not risking you burning me to a crisp.”

Mari rolled her eyes and summoned a small flame in her hand, slowly making it bigger. “Full control, let’s go Moonbeam.” she said. 

Mari made a good point of flicking a small flame which landed on Gav’s head. Connie snickered, going to the side lines with Gav. “What?” he asked. 

Connie held back her laugh, reaching a hand to scoop up the flame, “You got a little something on your head.”

He glared at his cousin. Connie turned to Gavin, “Can you use your water powers?”

Gavin raised a brow, “You mean the water powers I could barely use when I was six?”

Asher glanced at him, “I could help you with that if you want.”

Carmen nudged him, “Yeah, maybe you could douse your sister’s flames.” 

He raised a brow, then sent a burst of water that doused the small flame in Connie’s hand. “Aww, it was so cute.” Connie groused. 

“So are you and Gav a couple?” Rhea asked not so casually. 

Carmen and Gavin burst out laughing, “Them? A couple?” tears sprung into Gavin’s eyes.

“I think Connie would rather live in a swamp for the rest of her life.” Carmen doubled over in laughter. 

Gav rolled his eyes, “Jeez, Carm, way to be supportive.”

Ava was easily containing her giggles, “We support you Gav, mostly because it’s entertaining, but we just don’t think you two have a chance. She rejected you the day you were born.”

“To be fair, a ghost leopard came up to my face and was sniffing me, I think that warrants rejection.” Connie said. Gav shook his head in disbelief. 

After dinner, they all retired to their rooms, Ava and Gwen now sharing a room, leaving Connie in solitude. She had been pacing her room for two hours, trying - and failing - to think about anything but what Ava had said about Gav. 

She sighed in frustration, she sat down on the cushioned armchair, slumping in the seat. She noticed the robe hanging on the bedpost, and decided she’d take a bath to clear her head. It worked, but the second she got out, she was again consumed by thoughts of him. 

She felt frustrated, and sore from the sparring, which she hadn’t done in a while. She finally made up her mind and decided to leave her room. 

When she reached his room, she didn’t knock, she barged in. She stopped in the middle of his room, which wasn’t as nice as her’s, she noted with no small amount of satisfaction. Gav was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, dripping wet, with a towel hanging loosely from his hips. 

He frowned confused, “What are you-” She pushed him against the wall and kissed him. His hands went to her hips, making the towel fall to the floor. 

She threw him onto the bed, straddling his lap. He palmed her breasts through the fabric and groaned when she ground her hips against his. She shucked off her shirt, kissing his neck, trailing kisses down his chest. She slid her tongue over his tip, using a hand to stroke him - he fisted the sheet, moaning her name. 

When she met his lips with her’s, they were both breathless, she relaxed onto his chest slightly as he slid off her pants. She used a hand to guide him into her - she had to stifle a scream as she was filled with crushing pleasure, burying her head in his neck as he ground their hips together. 

When they were done, she collapsed next to him, breathing hard. She was staring at the ceiling, he leaned over and placed a kiss on her neck. “Why,” he said, trailing kisses over her chest and jaw, “did you come tonight?”

“I thought you might need a pick-me-up after I beat your ass.” she said.

He laughed against her skin, “That was quite a pick me up.” she nodded, arching into his touch. He turned serious all of a sudden, “You scared me Con, when you all disappeared, you really fucking scared me.” 

She kissed him, placing a hand on his chest, “Then maybe you should be punishing me.” she whispered seductively. 

He growled, then flipped her on her stomach, rubbing her back with a hand, while using the other to guide himself into her. He liked it when she gave him control, he liked using that control to wring out every ounce of pleasure. 

The first time they had done this they’d been sixteen, and she had decided she wanted to lose her virginity. He still didn’t know why she chose him, but since then, he hadn’t been able to get over her. It had happened again when they were twenty one and had gotten drunk at her birthday - she had come to his room, and he’d done all sorts of wonderful things to her. 

After that, they’d been together secretly. Not even Gwen knew, which he thought Connie enjoyed a little too much. When they finished the second time, she fell asleep instantly, and he tucked her into his chest. When he awoke, she was gone, and the sheets were cold. 

- - - - -

Two days later, and it was time for Rhea and company to go to the winter court. Rhea had called for Nuala and Cerridwen to watch over the Erileans and make sure nobody found out about them. They had all gotten closer in the past few days, Mari and Gav had finally warmed to the foreign land. 

“We’ll be gone for a few days.” Rose told Carmen during their morning training session. Carmen and Gav had now perfected their shifting powers, Gavin relearning the basics of water manipulation. Ava had been nearly attached to Rose, since both girls’ shadows seemed more at ease when together. 

“Ok.” Carmen said, dodging an attack. “Is it weird if I say I’ll miss you?” she asked. 

Rose smiled, “No, I’ll miss you too.” Both girls blushed, remaining in silence the rest of the time. 

“Aww.” Connie said from the side, nudging Gav, “Isn’t that so cute?” 

He sighed, “As long as it’s not an overbearing male.” 

She grinned, “I’m sure that’s what my sister would say about you.” 

“Say what?” Gwen asked, appearing beside them. 

“How adorable Carmen and Rose are.” Connie said, fake gushing. 

Gwen chuckled, “What about Gavin and Rhea? I saw them on one of the balconies talking an hour ago.”

“Are they still there?” Gav asked, frowning. 

“Not on the balcony.” Gwen said, grinning. 

Connie snickered, “I think Gavin lost his shy streak.” she said. 

Like magic, Gavin and Rhea came out just as she said those words. They were both smiling, and blushing. Rose and Carmen stopped sparring, and upon seeing their cousins, both females split off. Carmen squealed and hugged Gavin tightly, while Rhea and Rose couldn’t be heard at all. 

“You guys actually did it?” Rose asked her cousin excitedly.

Rhea couldn't stop smiling, or blushing, “It’s no big deal, Rose.”

“It’s such a big deal, Rhea.” Rose hugged her cousin, “You have a boyfriend.” she silently taunted. 

Rhea rolled her eyes, “He has to go home in less than a month, and it’s not like he lives anywhere I can go.”

Rose tched her, “They got here once, surely they could do it again. Don’t give up on it Rae.” 

Her cousin smiled, “Oh, all right.” she suddenly frowned, “When did you get so excitable and optimistic?”

Rose giggled, “When we met people from another world.”

“You sure it’s not just one person in particular?” Rhea asked with a knowing look.

Rose elbowed her, “Shush. Act natural.” she said dropping the shield around them. 

Ali was in the corner, grinning, “Someone looks happy.” She cooed, coming up to Rhea. 

“Shut up Ali.” Rose said beside her. 

Ali smirked, “You know, they’ll be here for Yulemas.” She said, “Everyone has fun at parties.” Rhea’s eyes widened, then a blush crept onto her cheeks. Ali winked at them both, then strode for the door, right as her brother and Mari came out. 

Asher frowned at his cousins, “Ali looked smug, what did she do?”

Rhea didn’t meet either of their gazes, instead staring out at the Night Court below them. Rose giggled beside her, “Nothing much, just teasing Rhea.”

“Teasing her about what?” Mari asked, raising her brows. 

Rhea blinked at her, then laughed nervously, “Nothing. Rose, Asher, we should get going so we’re not late.” she said, walking quickly toward the edge, where she jumped off.

Asher chuckled, “Wow, she must be really shy about it.”

Mari huffed a laugh, “I’m sure Gavin would be just as nervous if it was her brother.”

“What about me?” he asked coyly. He walked over to Gavin, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I like you,” he said, “but if you hurt Rhea, I’ll break you in half and dump your remains in the ocean.” he said evenly. He smiled at him, patting his shoulder. He passed Rose, “Say goodbye to your girlfriend and let’s go.” he said, walking out. 

Rose shook her head, smiling, “He’s joking.” she said to Gavin, “He’ll leave the murdering to her brother and parents, and uncles, and aunts.” Her voice was cheery, but they could all sense the warning behind it. Rose waved, quickly glancing at Carmen, then walked back into the house. 

They heard the flapping of wings, then saw Rose carrying Asher down toward the river house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, when it drops, go check out Here We Go Again. Time travel fic!  
> And check my insta @I_do_carme for updates, or just to be nice. I literally just need followers, plz. 
> 
> Oh, also, the next two chapters are high lords meeting yay.


	7. High Lords Meeting Pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just published two chapter of my new fic Here We Go Again. Please check it out, I've gotten really great comments on there and it's really encouraging my writing. 
> 
> Also, since I've been so encouraged, I am going to publish the last chapter tomorrow instead of saturday. This is what I like to call the mid fanfic finale. So it will be continued, I promise. But I want to work on this other one. 
> 
> Comments will encourage me to write this one more over Thanksgiving break.

They all met in the river house, Mor and Amren already waiting in their fine attire. Mor, of course, was wearing her signature red gown, while Amren opted for her, slightly nicer than usual, Night Court attire. Rhea’s parents as well as Cassian and Azriel were already at the meeting, leaving the females of the family. 

Mor frowned at them, “You look like you’ve been training all morning.” 

Ali flopped down on the couch, “They have been.” 

Asher did the same, “They’ve also been doing other things.” he said, smirking at Rhea. 

Rhea let out her wings and sat right on top of him, her wings slapping him in the face. “What’s that?” she asked mockingly, “You’re not going to butt into my business? Good.” she got off him. 

He swatted at her wings, huffing for air. “You’re a horrible female.” he said to her. 

“I bet that's what Gavin said to her.” Ali said, the twins high fived and laughed. 

Mor sighed through her nose, “Were you ever this immature?” she asked Amren. 

Amren just shrugged. “Can we go now?” Ali asked, “The sooner this is over, the better.” 

Mor shook her head, “You all need to change.”

They groaned, “Fine.” Rhea said. She snapped her fingers and they were all in their fine clothing. 

Asher whistled, “Look who got better at that.” She knew what he was insinuating, but she still chose to ignore him. 

Mor sighed, “Ok then, if we’re all presentable.” She took Amren’s arm, and they all winnowed. 

They arrived in a closed off courtyard in Winter, since only the residents were used to the climate. Rhea snapped her fingers and she was now wearing a coat, “The indoors are as cold as Velaris outdoors.” she said, slightly shivering. 

The first to come and greet them, was their own family. Rose gasped, “Nua? I was told you weren't coming.” she exclaimed. 

Nuala looked grumpy, “I was told you weren’t coming.” Both girls looked at their parents. 

“I told you they wouldn’t tell each other.” Rhys said, earning a glare from both of them. 

“Oh, come on, it’s not like there’d be much to do in Velaris all alone.” he said. 

“Nothing is better than hearing grown males argue and fight like children.” Ali stated, just as annoyed about the situation as Nuala. 

Kallum, Kallias and Vivianne’s second son, came out to greet them. “Welcome back to winter.” He looked at Rhea, who was shivering, “I promise the meeting room is warmer.” he said lightly. She nodded gratefully. 

Kallum led them into a lounge area where they would wait for everyone to arrive. “Where’s Nik?” Rhea asked, looking around the place. 

“He’ll be down in a moment.” Kallum said evenly. He was the mirror image of his father, quiet, but still quite pleasant. Rose, who had cast out her shadows when they arrived, knew exactly where Rhea’s brother was, but decided it was best to leave it alone for now. 

“Day, dawn, and spring are here.” Rose said, her shadows whispering names in her ears. 

Asher looked at her, “Is Amber here yet?” Rose nodded, and a few moments later, Amber Vanserra came waltzing into the room. 

“Hello,” she said in a sing-song voice. She sat next to Rose, beaming brightly, “How is the Night Court these days?” she asked. 

Rose took her hand, “After the meeting, I’ll tell you all about it.” she whispered. 

“Oo, juicy.” Amber whispered back. 

Ali snorted, “Oh great, now I’ll have to listen to all of you talk about love for three hours.” 

“I don’t think she can talk about it for three hours.” asher said. 

“No, but the three of you can talk about it for an hour each.” she said, making gagging noises. 

“What’s this about love?” Feyre asked, looking at her daughter. 

Rhea’s eyes went wide when Ali opened her mouth, “Don’t say a word Alison, not a word.” she threatened her. Ali glared at her, but didn’t say anything further. Rhea turned back to her parents, “I’ll tell you about it when we get back home, I don’t want anyone overhearing things. Her parents nodded her understanding. 

A servant came into the room, “Lord and ladies, the meeting is about to begin, please follow me.” They all got up, following the female to a grand marble room, with two raging fires in the hearth. They all felt the magical containment spell snap into place, a veil cast over their powers to stop any magical fights. 

“Maybe they should tweak that so nobody can physically attack, you know, like they do every year.” Nuala said sarcastically. 

Rose snorted in agreement. “Oh hush.” Elain scolded, “Don’t let anyone goad you.” she advised. 

Rose handed Rhea three gold coins, “I told you she’d say it.” Rhea teased. 

Their parents went to the large table, while all the rest of them chose seats on the wall. All of the high lords were here, Tamlin, Tarquin, Eris, Kallias, Hellion, Thesan, and Rhysand. Kallias looked at all assembled, “Let’s begin.” 

- - - - -

It had been five minutes of discussing the human-fae treaty, and people had already begun to argue. “The humans are weak now, they don’t need half the resources they barter.” Eris said. 

“They need those extra resources to get them through winter.” said Feyre, “And just because they aren’t as powerful as the fae, doesn’t mean they should be preyed upon.”

“We should at least rectify a border, those children of the blessed keep invading my territory.” Tamlin growled. 

“Maybe we should make an example of them.” Eris said, looking to the high lord of spring. 

“You’re starting to sound like Hybern, Eris.” Rhys said evenly. 

“We should change the trade agreements.” Kallias said, “We don’t have enough resources to be helping all the humans through the harsher seasons.”

“Though it would be easier if all the courts were pulling their weight.” Vivianne growled at Eris. 

“We should just wipe them out, humans are useless.” Eris said. 

“Don’t forget that I was human when I saved all your asses from Amarantha.” Feyre growled at him, “Just because you think you have the power to do it, doesn’t mean you do.” And then it descended into the usual chaos. Since they were considered neutral, Summer and Winter didn’t come into the debate much. Day sided with Night, while Spring and Autumn seemed inclined to steal human resources. 

“This isn’t ever going to end.” Ali said from beside her twin. The major thing they both agreed on, was that these meetings are tedious. 

“We have three more hours until they’re forced to stop. How likely is it they’ll go overtime?” 

“I say very likely. I’ll bet they go over thirty minutes.”

“I bet an hour.” he said. 

“You’re on.”

On the other side of the room, where the most yelling could be heard, the night court sat next to winter, and Amber. “Are the twins betting on how long they’ll be fighting for?” Amber asked. 

Rhea shook her head, “More like, how long they will continue to argue after the meeting ends.”

Amber sighed, “If only we were allowed to skip these things.”

“If only we could get away with ditching like Asher and Ali.” Nuala grumbled.

They all looked toward the now vacant seats where the twins had been earlier. Nobody else had noticed they were gone, since everyone who would be were arguing. “Maybe we can leave too?” Amber said quietly. 

_ “Don’t even think about it.” _ they all heard the distinct voice of Nikolas Archeron in their heads. 

Rhea rolled her eyes,  _ “We’re females, there’s literally no reason for us to be here other than to be called side pieces.” _ she said, crossing her arms. 

_ “You’re all here to observe, just because you aren’t going to be a high lord doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be a leader.” _

Nuala snorted,  _ “I don’t think it’s that hard to argue about human disputes.” _

Rhea turned to her cousin, “Can you believe him Rose?” she said. 

Rose didn’t respond. She had a bored expression on her face and the shadows on her shoulders looked like they were sleeping. Rhea nudged her, making her sway slightly. She didn’t even blink. Nuala took out her flask, tipping something into the cap and pouring it down Rose’s throat. 

She came sputtering awake, “What the hell, is that spiced rum?” she hissed quietly. 

Nuala nodded, “Perfect pick you up.” she said, taking a long swig. 

Rose tried to cough as quietly as she could, “Why the hell were you asleep?” Rhea asked. 

“How the hell were you asleep?” Amber countered. 

“I’ve been able to sleep with my eyes open for a while now, and I was sleeping because this meeting is boring and tedious.”

“If you’re bored, then why are you all still here?” Ali asked, winnowing in beside them.

Rhea frowned, “I thought winnowing was blocked.”

Ali grinned, “I may or may not have figured out a spell to make the spell skip me.” she said coyly. 

Amber’s eyes widened, “Do your parents know that?” she asked quietly. Ali shook her head. 

Rhea groaned, “I can’t take much more of this.” she said. 

Ali smiled, then snapped her fingers, “Thank me later.” and disappeared. Just then, Kallias punched Eris in the nose, and the room erupted into a huge fight. They all glanced at their parents once before sneaking out of the room. 

When they got into the halls, Amber shivered, “Is it just me, or does this place seem to be made out of ice?” she asked, hugging herself. 

“That’s just because you’re used to warm climates.” they all jumped as Cali, Vivianne’s daughter, pushed off the wall in front of them. “You’re all supposed to be in the meeting room.” she said, looking them all over. 

Ali came around the corner and slung an arm around her shoulder, “They’re with me, Cal, don’t worry.” she grinned at all of them, “We were heading down to the saunas, wanna come?” They all nodded. 

“Where’s Asher?” Rhea asked. 

“Lookout.” Cali replied. 

The saunas were in the deeper part of the fortress, where the waters were heated by cracks in the ground. There was heat wafting up from the various tubs of water. You could either go into the rooms where there was only steam, or you could relax in the waters. They all stripped to their underclothes and hopped in the water. 

Amber’s hair bled from black, into red. She had somehow inherited a small ability to shift, even though she had no blood relatives in spring. She had naturally red hair, but always changed it to better represent her grandfather’s court, while keeping her eyes blue to represent her mother’s. 

She sighed, “I don’t think I can get out of this now.” she said. “I hate the cold.” 

Cali was silent as she slid into the waters, her skin turning darker, as though the water was thawing ice. “You get used to the cold after a while, but you’re all welcome down here anytime. 

“So,” Rhea said, stretching out her wings, “why were you two together?” She opened one eye to look at Ali, whose face held a stoney expression. 

She rolled her eyes, “She didn’t go to the meeting and we ran into each other when I bailed.” 

“How did you bail without anyone noticing it?” Amber asked, sinking deeper into the steamy water.

“I made a habit of randomly disappearing whenever something got boring, so my parents expect this now.” Rose gulped, “Don’t worry, they’ll probably assume you went to find me.”

Rhea snorted, “Rose, me, and Amber?” 

Ali shrugged, “You needed two people to come find me and Amber skipped on her own, it’s not like anyone can touch her.”

“Hey.” Amber said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your uncle is high lord of Autumn, your uncle is the high lord of Summer, your grandfather is the high lord of Day, and your father’s best friend is the high lord of Spring.” said Rhea

“And they’ve all been wrapped around your finger since you were born.” Rose added. 

“Which makes you untouchable.” Cali concluded. 

Amber sighed, “You know, being connected to four high lords isn’t the greatest thing.”

“Eris pushing for you to marry?” Rose asked sympathetically. 

Cali frowned, “She’s eighteen.”

“I’m an adult, and fertile.” Amber said bitterly. 

“Your parents can’t be ok with this.” Rhea said. 

“No, but he is technically my high lord, all of them are. Tamlin’s leaving it to my parents to decide. Though Hellion did threaten that if Eris made me marry against my will he’d gut him.” she said. 

“I’d like to see that.” Ali said, Cali nodded in agreement. 

“So you aren’t interested in anyone?” Rose asked innocently, redirecting the conversation. 

Amber was much better at controlling her blush than any of them, “Only one male, though it would make things a lot more complicated.”

“Because if you and Andras had children they would be from five different courts and heirs to two?” Cali asked nonchalantly. 

Amber nodded, slightly surprised by her candid question. “It wouldn’t be as problematic for Day since my grandfather and father would have to die for my son to become high lord, but yes.” she sighed, “Not to mention having a sliver of power from three seasonal and two solar courts.” 

Ali chuckled, “If your kids marry someone from Dawn and Winter, they’ll rule Prythian.”

“Please don’t say that in front of any of the high lords, I don’t feel like being turned into a breeding mare.”

Rhea leaned back, “There’s also a problem of politics. While Eris and Tamlin are on the same page, Summer is a neutral court, and Day is against both Autumn and Spring.”

“Night’s against spring, but Emerie still married Tamlin.” said Cali. 

“Yes, but Emerie isn’t part of the court, she isn’t even a general. You’re the granddaughter of Hellion, meaning your marriage would create a bridge between Day and Spring.” Rose explained. 

Amber groaned, “I hate politics.”

“That’s why we’re here and not up there.” Ali said smugly. 

“What about you Ali?” Rhea asked, “Are you resigned to sleeping with every male in your path for the rest of existence?” 

Ali rolled her eyes, “I sleep with males for pleasure, I have no interest in a relationship.”

“So who shall be your prey tonight?” Rhea asked, dropping her voice to a whisper, “Will it be someone from Winter, Dawn, maybe Autumn?”

“Ewwww.” Amber cried, “My cousin and my cousins?” she shuddered. 

Ali snorted, “Don’t worry I draw the line at Autumnal rot. No offense Amber.”

“None taken.”

Cali sighed, “Don’t screw my brothers, that’s all I ask.”

Ali grinned at her. “I don’t know, Cedric seemed interested earlier.” she teased. 

Cali gave her an icy glare, “Don’t you dare go sleeping with my little brother, he’s hardly nineteen.” Ali shrugged. 

Asher winnowed in at the edge of the pool, “If you ladies are done, the fighting is starting to die down.” He said, “You might want to hurry back before people notice that most of Night Court is gone.” he chided. 

Ali rolled her eyes, “We’ll be fine.”

Asher scanned the group, and narrowed his gaze on Rhea and Rose, “You know, if you skip the meeting your parents will have you on Illyrian duty.” the girls exchanged a look, “You won’t have time for certain someones.” he said to them.

Rhea was the first to get out, Rose quickly following her. Amber got out confused, “Who won’t you have time for?” she asked them. 

“Their girlfriend and boyfriend.” Ali said casually, helping Cali out. 

“Shut up Ali.” Rhea hissed. 

Ali grinned, “Have you told your parents about Gavin, and your little  _ adventure _ this morning?” she emphasized the word in a way that made a blush creep onto Rhea’s cheeks. 

She shook her head, “Don’t say anything.” she pleaded, Ali only shrugged. 

Thanks to Amber’s fire abilities, they snuck back into the meeting room fully dry. They all took their seats right as the fighting died down. Rhea glanced at the clock on the wall, “They’re a half hour over.” she whispered to the rest of them. 

And right as it looked like they were about to launch into another fight, a loud whistle could be heard. All heads turned to Ali, who had stood and was currently glaring at them all. Her face fell into an easy smile, “Well, since you’ve all finally decided to zip it, I’ll get right to it.” She glanced at the clock as she said, “You’re a half hour over, and I’m hungry, so instead of starving I’m going to dinner. If it is your choice to stay in this very cold room and continue to fight over the same thing for hours, go ahead.” She gave them all a satisfied look, then pinned her gaze on the Night court, “For all those who have become bored of grown fae acting like children, follow me.”

The room was dumbfounded as almost every kid stood from their chairs and left the room. Ali bowed to all of them, “Have a nice night.” she said sweetly, grinning as her brother begrudgingly dropped gold coins into her hand. The twins exited the room, leaving some of the adults steaming. 

Amren snorted, then followed her children out. All the females headed back down to the saunas, leaving the males to deal with the adults. 


	8. High Lords Meeting Pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiatus time kids. I'm focusing on my other story Here We Go Again. Go check it out. My insta is @I_do_carme   
> I posted an outline for this story on there, so if you look, you can probab;y figure out where I'm going with this.

They came into the common room laughing, they were still wet from their soak, trailing water onto the carpets. Even Cali had shed her icy exterior, and the rest of them had finally convinced Ali to stay and chat with the family. 

When they entered, all of their parents stopped talking and turned to them. Nuala strode right over to one of the cushioned couches and spread out, pulling a flask from her belt. Kallum was cozied up next to Nik, as were most of the couples, and it looked like Hellion and Mor had been discussing something. Ali sat down in a chair and reached for her mother’s glass of wine, “I just want it to be known, I do not want to be here.” she said, draining the glass. 

Amber rolled her eyes, “You have no idea how to get along with people do you?” she asked, sitting near her grandfather. 

Ali smiled at her, “Oh I get along with people great, when they’re in my bed and we don’t have to talk.” she said, taking another glass of wine and drinking the whole thing. Her parents didn’t even change their expressions at their daughter’s words, they were very used to it by now. 

Asher, who was on the other side of their parents said, “It’s not that bad Ali.”

She scoffed, “Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re having so much fun. Though, maybe you miss your girlfriend just a little.” she said in a mocking tone. Her brother didn’t react to her words either, though Rose did giggle quietly. Ali turned to her, “What’s so funny Rose, you’re missing Carmen aren’t you? And Rhea, you must definitely be missing Gavin, you two did  _ really _ connect.” she emphasized the word in a way that made Rhea blush. 

Amber groaned, “Ok, we get the point, you can leave.”

Ali looked hurt, “You don’t want me to mention your love interests?” she asked innocently. 

“Out.” Amber growled. Ali was happy to oblige, taking a bottle of wine, she walked out of the room, completely satisfied. Amber leaned back in her seat, “No offense, but your child is the devil.” she said. 

Asher chuckled, “I thought we discovered that when she was five.” he said.

Varian sent his son a very pointed look, shutting the male up. “What’s this about a boyfriend?” Feyre asked her daughter casually. 

Rhea put her head in her hands, “Can we please not have the overprotective parent discussion, like, ever?” 

Feyre rolled her eyes, “That’s your father’s job, I just want to know who finally peaked your interest.” 

“Mom! Why don’t we talk about Asher and Rose having girlfriends?” she asked desperately. 

Rose and Asher chorused, “She’s not my girlfriend.” 

Rose blushed, “We’re just friends.” Asher raised a brow at her, “Oh shut it, you and Mari disappeared for like an hour.” 

“We were just talking. And let’s not forget Rhea being gone with him for longer.” he said defensively. 

“We didn’t do anything.” Rhea said, blushing profusely. 

“Oh please, I could smell it the second you walked out.”

They continued bickering, shadows swirling around Rose’s shoulders, making Azriel warry. When Amber noticed the vase start to shake, she finally had enough. She snapped her fingers, and all three of them were hit with a bucket’s worth of water, none of which touched anyone else in the room, or the furniture. 

Rose sputtered, being hit with the most, Rhea was trying to get her soaked hair out of her face, and Asher just looked pissed. “Now that you’ve all shut up.” Amber said cheerfully. “Any chance you can from a sentence without arguing?” They all silently glared. She rolled her eyes, snapping her fingers again, she made them dry. “There, now can we all be civil. Thank you.” 

She sat down, Hellion beaming with pride, then she frowned, “Where’s dad, and mom?” she asked. 

“They’re having dinner with Tamlin and Emerie.” said Hellion. 

Her eyes went wide, then she stretched and yawned, “Well, I’m going to bed. Night!” she hurried out of the room, barely hugging her grandfather goodnight before she was gone. 

Rose groaned, “Why doesn’t she ever get hounded for her love life?”

“Because all of us know who she's meeting.” Cassian said, looking back at his niece. 

“You’ve met Gavin and Carmen.” Rhea said, hoping her uncle would help them out.

“And Mari, and Gav, and the twins.” Asher added. 

Rhea elbowed him hard in the ribs. “Ow.” he glared at her. 

“Uietqay on the info unmpday” she said through gritted teeth. 

“Speak in english.” he shot back. 

Rose slapped his shoulder, “Not here.” she hissed. 

Feyre clapped her hands, gaining their attention, “What in the hell are you three going on about?” 

Rhea looked at her cousins, having a silent conversation. Finally Rhea sighed, erecting a solid shield around them. “I expect what we say to be kept secret.” she said, glancing at Hellion, Kallum, and Varian, “It doesn’t leave this room.” she said seriously. All three nodded. “Ok, then. Something happened when I was stationed on Ramiel…” 

After she had explained everything, Rose and Asher occasionally cutting in, everyone was silent. Hellian rubbed his jaw, “This would be problematic if Eris or Tamlin found out, they might try to push for an invasion.”

“They can’t invade if they have to go through the Night Court.” Nik stated, “Anyone who did without permission would be declaring war.”

Kallum nodded, “Both of them would have to pass through Winter as well as the solar courts, it would only make it harder to do so.”

“Would they actually declare war on a world we know nothing of?” Elain asked. 

Cassian nodded, “They’d say we know nothing about them, and they’d most likely argue to strike before we’re struck.” 

Rhea shook her head, “They’re world doesn’t have magic, and most in Prythian won’t be able to win against them without it. The court they’d be going into has the most fae and is right next to a kingdom of witches, who apparently have wyverns.”

“What is a wyvern?” Nesta asked.

“A small dragon that doesn’t breathe fire but can still easily kill us all.” said Rose. 

“That’s a great way to convince people they’re not a threat.” Asher deadpanned. “Look, they don’t have any bad intentions, and their parents won’t either.”

Rhys sighed, “You said they came through the obelisk on Ramiel?” Asher nodded, “Amren, do you know of a way to close the portal without destroying the stone?” 

Amren thought for a moment, then shook her head, “You can seal it, but people would still be able to come from the other side, you can only lock it on your side. If you smash it and keep the pieces separated, then nobody can use it period, but you can’t fully destroy it.” 

Rhys nodded, “Ok, then once we get them back home, we should do that.” 

Rhea, Rose, and Asher immediately started protesting. “Dad, they’re not dangerous, they’re parents fought a war before they were born, they don’t want to conquer Prythian.” Rhea said. 

“Mom, Dad, uncle Cass, you met them.” Rose said, “Please, you don’t think they’d actually try it.” she pleaded. 

Cassian sighed, “I did meet them, they seem like good kids. But, they’re very powerful. Mari alone could decimate half an army.” Asher had to stifle the growl in his throat. 

Amren looked at her son, then Rhys, “Why don’t we just meet them? It wouldn’t hurt.” 

“We need to contain this Amren.”

“They’re kids, do you think they purposefully came here to destroy us?”

“I’m trying to protect my court.”

“If they send an army through that portal, we’ll know and will prepare. If they only send a small legion, we have hundreds of Illyrians stationed there.” she said. 

“I will not risk our people after what happened with Hybern. Drop it.”

“You made me your second so that I’d tell you when you were wrong. I’m telling you now.” she said. She sighed, “Could we speak privately?” 

Everyone else took that as their cue to leave. The only remaining were the inner court. Amren sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I need you to hear me, when I say that these people will not try to wage a war.”

“Give me a reason Amren.” he replied. 

She rubbed her temple, “The twins, the daemati that shift, they’re my nieces.” she said. “Well, my niece’s daughters.” she corrected. 

“How is that possible?” Elain asked. 

“I came from Erilea. My sister became fae through some turn of events, and she had children. My niece and nephew work in the queen’s court, and her children are here.” She ran a hand through her hair, “I have used that portal to meet their mother, and I know that they have no intention of waging a war.”

Rhys was quiet, “You’ve never mentioned this.”

Amren nodded, “I found the portal almost four thousand years ago, but nobody on the other side could open it. Then, a few decades ago, my niece opened it. I didn’t think anyone would take it well, so I didn’t mention it. Though admittedly, at the time I just wanted it to be my own secret.”

Mor sat down next to her, “Why didn’t you tell us, you know we wouldn’t stop you from going home.”

She nodded, “I know, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to come back, and that my world would have changed so much.” she sighed, “I am sorry I didn’t tell you. One of the major reasons was because of what Vera told me, she said I was needed in this world.”

“Is she a seer?” Elain asked. 

Amren shook her head, “Her mother’s power, it was like a seer’s, but she didn’t see symbols or pictures, she just told me I was needed, and I was.” 

Rhys sighed, “Fine, we won’t close it, but I do want to meet them.” 

Amren nodded, “None of them know about this, only Vera. I don’t think it would help to tell them.” 

Feyre nodded, “Understood.” She looked at her husband, “We’ll meet them when we go back to Velaris, if we rush out, people will suspect something.” 

Rhys nodded in agreement, “Who’s with them right now?” he asked Cassian. 

“I believe they asked Nuala and Cerridwen to keep an eye on them.” he responded. 

Rhys nodded, “Ok, after tomorrow, we’ll figure this out.” he said. 

Mor groaned, “We still have to go tomorrow? I don’t see the point of these meetings, other than to get out aggression.” 

“It only angers me more than when I walked in.” Nesta said.

Feyre snorted, “At least you don’t have to stand near Tamlin and Eris.” she said. 

Rhys put an arm around his wife’s shoulders, “I’m standing right next to the pricks.” he said. 

- - - - -

There were small rays of light breaking through the curtains by the time Rhea Archeron woke up. It was early, and dawn was barely breaking. She half expected to hear the clash of steal, as she had become very used to the dawn training sessions they had with the Erileans. She opened her eyes and sat up in bed, feeling the space beside her. 

She was in a dimly lit room, her bed was layered with various soft blankets and pillows to keep out the winter chill, and an unlit fire beside it. She grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she dragged herself to the bathing room for a quick bath, and changed. 

When she got into the common area of their wing, she found the twins, Nuala, and Rose also awake. Rose handed her a cup of hot chocolate and she grumbled a thank you as she sat down on one of the plush chairs. The mug was warm in her hands and she could see little marshmallows bobbing up. 

She sighed, leaning her head back, “I don’t think I can take another day of this.” she said. 

Rose hummed, taking a sip from her drink. Nuala took a long swig from her flask, “You need to get layed, it’ll loosen you up.” she said. 

Rhea glared at her, “I would, but the person I’m sleeping with is currently in the house of wind.” 

Ali snorted, “Just choose any male here, there are plenty.”

Rose threw a pillow at her, “Rhea doesn’t sleep with every male who crosses her path.” she hissed. 

Ali gave her a pouty face, “Still angry about last night Rosey?” Rose stuck her with a glare. Rhea rolled her eyes, dozing off slightly.

Amber woke up curled up in Andras’ arms. She felt him stroking her back lazily, his nose in her hair. She tilted her head to look at him. He had dirty blonde hair and green eyes, and the most gorgeous smile ever. She leaned up and kissed him, hearing him purr softly. 

He kissed her neck, breathing in her scent, “Morning beautiful.” he breathed. 

“Morning.” she said, arching into his touch. “We have an hour before breakfast.” 

He smiled against her jaw, “What can we do in an hour?” He kissed down her jaw, his thumb brushing the side of her breasts. 

She sighed contented, “Andras-”

There was suddenly a knock on the door, “Andras, are you up?” It was his mother, Emerie’s, voice. 

Amber slipped under the covers, trying not to make a sound as his mother peeked her head in, “Yes, mother?” he asked, using his magic to shield her. 

“We have breakfast in an hour, are you ready yet?” 

He raised a brow, “It doesn’t take me an hour to get ready.” he said incredulously.

“I know,” she said, nodding her head, “but you tend to sleep in.” she told him. 

When he was going to respond, he felt something wet trailing over his abdomen. He snuck a peek at the blankets, that looked perfectly flat over his legs and torso. He subtly reached a hand under the blanket and tugged on her hair, then he smiled at his mother, “I’ll be out in a half hour.” he said.

She smiled and nodded, “Ok dear, and tell Amber she is more than welcome to join us, her parents are with Tarquin this morning.” she said. She turned and left the room, her wings flaring out to close the door. 

Amber’s head poked up beside his chest, her face set in a wide grin, “I guess I’m joining you for breakfast then.” she said cheerfully. 

He sighed, “I’m going to have four high lords who want me dead today.”

She raised a brow, “Four?” 

“My father loves you more than me.” He said, kissing her brow. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his trousers. “You know, I wouldn’t mind it, if he didn’t treat you like you’re his only child.”

Amber giggled as she too got dressed, “I wouldn’t say that, I just think I’m the closest thing to a daughter he has.” She put her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek, “If it helps, I love you the most.” 

He chuckled, “I love you the most too.” he said. He turned around and put his hands on her hips, twirling her around the room. When they finally stopped laughing, he went in the bathing room to get ready. Since both of them had to shower, change, and try to keep their hands off each other, it took almost the whole hour. 

When they were finally ready, Amber grabbed onto Andras’ arm and steered them toward the smaller dining hall. She heard him suck in a breath before they entered the room. Only Tamlin and Emerie were there, thank the cauldron, and they were deep in conversation. 

They sat silently at the other end of the table, trying to not make any noise as they piled food on their plates. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Tamlin cleared his throat. “Amber, I didn’t know you’d be joining us this morning.” 

Amber smiled sweetly, “Emerie invited me.” she said simply. 

“Mm, Lucien mentioned you didn’t go to your room last night.” he said, glancing at her. 

She met his stare head on, “I was with the night court for dinner, I got in late.” 

Andras could see his mother nudging Tamlin under the table. Tamlin turned to her and she put everything she needed to say in one look. He was quiet on the matter. Emerie turned back to Amber, “Well, it’s always nice to have you her Amber. Are you coming back to spring with us after the meeting?”

Amber frowned, then looked at Andras, “You didn’t ask them?” Andras gave her a defeated look. Amber huffed a sigh, then turned back to his parents, “Actually, I was going to stay in Night Court for a while, Rose invited us both.” she said the last words with a little grit. 

Emerie frowned at her son, “Why didn’t you tell us?” 

Andras winced at the females’ accusing stares, “I thought you’d object.” He thought his father would object. 

Tamlin sighed, “Despite my feelings toward their parents, you are still allowed to see Rose and the others.” 

Andras nodded, “Thank you.” 

“But while you two are there, I expect you to be careful.” After Emerie slapped him, it took a good minute before Andras registered what his father said. 

When he did, his eyes went wide, “Father!” he exclaimed. Amber broke out in a fit of giggles. 

“We are being careful.” Amber assured them, as she pulled herself together. 

Emerie nodded, “Good, now let’s not bring that up again.” she said, reaching for her fork, “Though I wouldn’t be opposed to grandkids.” she mumbled. 

- - - - -

When they reconvened in the council room, it was like deja vu. “Are they still arguing about the human treaty?” Nuala asked as she munched on a doughnut. 

Rose nodded, the shadows on her shoulders slumping, “They can’t agree what to do about it, so they can’t move on from it.” 

Rhea looked like she was going to pass out, “I wish we were at the house of wind, we’d be going into the city and shopping by now.”

“Mm, and we would have been sparring this morning.” Rose said, stretching her stiff limbs. 

“So what did your parents say about it?” Cali asked, having chosen to attend this meeting. 

“They want to meet them.” said Rhea. “We’re going back to Velaris tonight like we planned, and they’re going to meet them the next morning. 

“Are Andras and I still invited?” Amber asked, carefully surveying her relative to make sure nobody got injured. 

“Of course, as long as no oher high lords learn of this.” Rhea said, “We already swore Cali and Kallum to secrecy.” 

Amber held up her right hand, “I solemnly swear we can effectively lie to our parents.” she said smiling. 

“Lie to our parents about what?” Andras asked, sitting in a seat beside her.

“I’ll tell you later.” she said, waving him off. 

Rose frowned at him, “Shouldn’t you be up there?”

He shook his head, “I’m pretty sure either Nik or Kallum is about to get insulted, so I thought I’d vacate the line of fire.” 

He put his hands behind his head, crossing his ankle over a knee, and leaning back in his chair. Sure enough, someone (ehem Eris) insulted Nik. Kallum growled, then punched the high lord in the face, causing his brood of sons to jump into action. Before there was somewhat ordered yelling, and now there was a blur of color as all the courts broke into a brawling match. 

Emerie walked away from where Tamlin and Kallias were trading punches, and came over to her son. She looked at the adults with a bored expression on her face, “Males.” she tsked, shaking her head. 

She winced as Rhys delt Eris a heavy blow. Mor was behind the autumn lord to knock him on his ass, Azriel eyeing them from the corner. Nuala cheered as her mother punched Eris’ wife in the nose, eliciting a small crack. The twins had moved over to them, “Do I really need to do this again?” Ali asked, bored. 

She rolled her eyes, and placing her thumb and forefinger at the edges of her mouth, she let out a loud whistle. Everyone seemed to stop in their tracks and turn their attention to the raven haired girl frowning down at them. 

She scoffed, “And you’re supposed to be the adults? I’ve seen more maturity in ants.” With that, she turned and left the room. 

Asher grinned after his sister, then turned back to the assembled audience. He only chuckled, then followed her out. Amber started laughing, clutching her stomach. The high lords looked less than pleased, but then Rhea and Rose joined in the laughter. Soon, all of the children were laughing at their parents’ fighting, even Nik and Kallum were grinning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos always appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this, this is the second sequel to Wolfie, but you don't have to have read that or the other one. unlike the others, this one isn't fully written. I have about 9 chapters done, so I'm going to post every other day so I don't risk getting really blocked up.


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